My Obsession
by The Twilight Necromancer
Summary: I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time.' 'Gaav? That's impossible! He's dead' 'Who am I' 'You're mine, Valgaav.' It's GaavVal yaoi. Dedicated to Brent&Alonso.
1. Monologue of the Prologue

**Rated:** R   
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance   
**Title:** My Obsession   
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'   
**Author's Note:** This is to cheer Val up a bit since he's been depressed since last night when his fellow got hurt in an accident. It's dedicated to he and Brent, who use the names Val and Gaav on chat rooms, for the underappreciated coupling of the Demon Dragon King and his most loyal servant, Val (i.e., Valgaav.) Don't tell _me_ they're out of character; I know it! Sue me; I _did_ say it was dedicated to Brent and Alonso, after all.. 

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Just a little note before we get started. I'll try to keep everyone as in-character as I possibly can. It's my first actual fiction for Slayers, especially with this pairing, so I haven't got a lot of experience writing in it. Sorry everybody! Secondly, it's going to start out the cheesey way: with Lina introducing herself. I.e., the first chapter's beginning is going to be in Lina's point of view. Kind of like the voice-over-action recaps of the last episodes from the Slayers series. Enjoy yourselves as best you can._   
**Chapter One: Monologue of the Prologue**

It's me: the beautiful sorcery genius, Lina Inverse! Bet you thought you'd never hear from me again after that spat with Valgaav, huh? Well, surprise! Don't get me wrong; I still feel bad about having to kill the poor guy, but he wanted to destroy the world! I could have just sat back and let it happen; he did say it would be recreated, after all, but that would mean I would have to face my sister's wrath and even if the world did end, I know she'd have found a way to get me. No thank you! 

It's been seventeen years since Valgaav's death, and things are still going as they always do: to Hell in a hand basket. The only difference? Now there's no Hellmaster Phibrizzo to make life worse once we get there. 

Amelia's back in Seyruun doing her royal duties and Zelgadiss is still searching for his cure; I feel sorry for the guy. Now that I think about it, I can understand why he would be a little sore at me after all these years. 

I _did_ have the chance to fuse my mind with _the_ Claire Bible itself in order to learn the secret behind the Ragna Blade. 

The only problem with that is, we were so busy with fighting Gaav at the time that the idea of asking about a cure for Zelgadiss' body completely slipped my mind! But come on; I would have asked otherwise and gladly given it to him! (For a price..) 

Anyway, Zel is still out looking for his cure as I said and Xelloss still pops in now and again to check on things and cause some trouble for everybody. 

The crazy priest.. 

As for Filia, Jillas, and Gravos, they've got their hands full raising a once more full-blooded Ancient Dragon by the name of Val- yeah, you guessed it; Valgaav's egg finally hatched and he was reborn as Val once more -and let me tell you! According to Filia, he looks really good for a seventeen-year-old! Having seen him once or twice since he hatched, I have to agree on that idea; he does. But he's a handful; Filia's trying to make sure he has a perfect life this time around so she can make up for what her people did to Valgaav's years ago. She really doesn't wanna let any bad memories resurface now that she's come so far raising him properly. 

Jillas and Gravos aren't helping matters.. 

As for Gourry and I? Well, we finally hooked up. We got married about eight years ago when the realization that I'm _not_ a little girl anymore finally dawned on him. He's still as stupid as ever, as you can tell. 

Kids! Not yet! We don't have time for any yet; not when you're a beautiful sorceress and a handsome, strong swordsman! 

Gourry kind of misses the Sword of Light, but he's getting used to using regular swords now. He really likes the one Zel bought for him last Christmas; it looks exactly like the Sword of Light used to, minus the light part. 

Whenever Zel and Amelia can make it around, we keep trying to teach him at least a little magic so he won't feel so bad about having to forfit the Sword of Light- willingly or not -but it's still not working. 

Last time, we tried to teach him a Levitation spell and he jumped on a table and said he floated there. Yeah, right! You can't fool the talented Lina Inverse! 

There's never a dull moment with these guys.. 

When we got together for a group reunion last Valentine's Day- the second half; the 14th of March (Xelloss and Filia included, of course!) -it was nothing short of chaos. You see, here in Japan, we do things a little bit differently on Valentine's Day. 

February 14th, the girls give the guys chocolates. Milk chocolate if you like them, and dark chocolate if you really like them. Now March 14th is the ladies' half of Valentine's Day! That's when the guys give their sweethearts gifts. I don't mean chocolates; I'm talking actual stuff. Last year, Gourry gave me a dagger in a beautifully jeweled sheath! 

Oh, right; my point here is, holidays- when you have Xelloss and Filia in the same room -are never dull. For instance! (Yeah, I'm gonna refer to last year. Again..) March 14th, right? Filia had left Val back with Jillas and Gravos to run the little shop that she set up to support Val and herself, and had come to visit to see how everyone was doing. Xelloss showed up and, to everyone's surprise, gave a black box wrapped with a shimmering violet bow to Filia. 

I don't think I need to tell you how suspicious that should have seemed to her; she hates Monsters and Xelloss is, after all, a Mazoku. The idea of actually getting a gift was just a bit overwhelming to her though, I suppose, because she sat down and opened it there on the spot! 

She wasn't too thrilled to find a dead frog inside, but hey. He's a Monster as I said before; what did she expect? Zel says he thinks that's the Mazoku equivalent of giving a girl a boquet of roses and a giant plush teddy bear, but Filia wouldn't hear anything on the subject. 

What else could we have expected from someone who once served the Gods? 

Anyway, when you're having such a great time, it's hard to imagine how there can be such a huge threat on the horizon. One that was potentially far more dangerous than that of Valgaav seeking revenge through Dark Star upon the Gods and Monsters for ruining his first two lives.   
**To Be Continued..**


	2. Resurrection

**Rated:** R   
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance   
**Title:** My Obsession   
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'   
**Author's Note:** This is to cheer Val up a bit since he's been depressed since last night when his fellow got hurt in an accident. It's dedicated to he and Brent, who use the names Val and Gaav on chat rooms, for the underappreciated coupling of the Demon Dragon King and his most loyal servant, Val (i.e., Valgaav.) Don't tell _me_ they're out of character; I know it! Sue me; I _did_ say it was dedicated to Brent and Alonso, after all.. 

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Yeah. Another POV chapter. It's just so much easier to start everything that way! Why didn't I think of that idea sooner? Like..62 stories ago, ne? The difference between chapter two and chapter one is Gaav's the one talking rather than Lina. Enjoy yourselves as much as possible. He's WAY out of character and I truly know it._   
**Chapter Two: Resurrection**

"At last I die; it all returns to white." 

_What! No! Valgaav! Don't surrender to your fate so quickly; keep fighting, damnit!_

I knew it did me no good to shout to him; he couldn't hear me from the in-between plane that I floated weightlessly in. It wasn't as though I had expected him to; it was the force of habit to yell warnings to him. 

Over a thousand years of his serving me made it a well-known fact to me that he was hot-headed and prone to violence despite the reknowned peacefulness of his original forebearers. That peaceful, kind nature died the day Val took on my name and became my servant, Valgaav. 

Those many years of his serving me taught me another thing as well, however. 

It's damned hard not to take a liking in one way or another to those who follow you so loyally for that long a period of time blindly. 

I stand living- well, not any longer, but..I _stood_ living proof of that in the fact that, over the years, Valgaav had grown on me to feel rather like a son. But as the years continued to go by and we speant more time together, it quickly began to become more of a deeper connection than simply master and servant or even father and son. 

I'd like to say it's impossible for a Mazoku Lord to feel emotions such as love; I am still part Mazoku whether I was fused with a human's soul or not. 

The problem with that idea is that because of the human soul, it does allow me to feel those emotions which should be so foreign and forbidden for Monsters. 

Unfortunately, the human soul that I still had kept its hold of me even as I floated on, not quite dead but most certainly not alive - not after what the Hellmaggot did to me, at least, and it brought out the pesky feelings I'd begun to have over my wild-haired halfling servant. 

_Never surrender, Valgaav; damnit! You gave your word to serve me no matter the order when I gave you a second chance at living! If you've never listened to a single order wholeheartedly in the past, obey this one, for Ruby Eye's sake!_

More shouting, though it did absolutely no good. 

I had no other options but to watch on, unable to do a damned thing, as that wretch, Lina Inverse and her allies, murdered the most powerful, most loyal follower I had ever been graced with the chance of ordering around for even the most miniscule of things. 

Not surprising; she killed the Hellbrat, after all, as well as one-seventh of Ruby Eye Shabranigdo, the leading Dark Lord of this plane. 

I'd just held higher hopes for the fate of Valgaav than what he was apparently doomed to see through. 

If he weren't so headstrong and warped in his intentions because of the luck he met in his two lives thus far, I wonder, would he have met with this fate and been in such a deep state of self-hatred as he was? Would he have been willing to go so far as his death, again, to avenge those long gone to this world? 

As I watched the black headband he wore so frequently about his forehead get destroyed by the last-ditch effort Lina Inverse and her friends put into defeating Valgaav, I was too aware of the fact that it was over for my servant. He met a fate not so different from my own, minus the fact I, being bound with a human soul, didn't want to die and he was willing- all too willing, I realize now, upon looking back at it -to die. 

And still, the one thing he had wanted most- or so I had thought during life -that I had promised to achieve for him, his revenge, wasn't carried out. The overworlders had destroyed the Golden Dragons; all but the priestess, Filia, which Lina traveled with to foil the prophecy that Valgaav was so cruelly trapped within the confines of. 

Then his vow for revenge for me against Lina Inverse had been unable to be fulfilled as well the moment they discovered the true meaning behind the prophecy of destruction. 

An unexplicable sense of loss burned in my veins as the light surrounding Valgaav completely consumed him and his death was completed. 

The one person, Ryuzoku, Mazoku, whatever you prefer to refer to him as- he was all three in my eyes -I had ever found my Mazoku and human spirits growing fond of in any way at all that outweighed the sense of duty towards myself was now dead at the hands of Lina Inverse and her companions. 

Almost instantly when it was over, before there was much time to do anything, really,feathers came floating down like oddly-shaped, black snowflakes from the sky. 

I knew what they were the moment that I saw them. 

The feathers from Valgaav's beautiful, elegant wings which had carried over from his Ryuzoku form even after I had killed him and made him my own servant; my own Valgaav. 

And, to my admittedly great surprise, I also instantly recognized the tiny, dark blue-blackish sphere which landed within the cupped, gloved hands of Filia Ul Copt. It was something the world hadn't seen for quite some time now: an Ancient Dragon's egg. 

And it was Valgaav's. 

In quietened, extreme relief, the exact words spilling from the ex-priestess' lips fell from mine as well as if it were synchronized. _This isn't an ending; it's your beginning.._

She at least seemed ready to accept the responsibility of what her people had done to Valgaav's, and seemed as though she would treat him as he deserved to be treated from the start. 

With fairness. 

I was set to face being dead and just float back and watch as Valgaav got to live the life he should have the first time around, once more as Val, the Ancient Dragon he was originally born to be. 

And I would have. What stopped me, though? 

The damn female dragon put a protective barrier over her antique shop and her home that prevents Monsters and the like from entering in any way, shape, or form. 

And damned if I, intangible, ghostly me that I am having died, am still a Mazoku Dark Lord at the core whether my soul is humanized or not. 

For seventeen long years, I've been trapped without a way to be reborn into a human body because of Phibrizzo. And, for seventeen years, I've been kept from the one thing that I now realized I wanted, no - want more than anything else: Val. My ex-servant. The Ancient Dragon who, by this point, must be the must stunningly attractive young dragon to have ever graced this plane's surface. 

Then, as though destiny had other plans for how the rest of my fate would unfold, I found myself being pulled towards the surface of some unknown location and, before I could even realize what had happened, I was blinded by what must have been sunlight. 

Sure enough, a quick survey of my surroundings provided me the information I needed. 

I was far from the antique shop the dragon girl ran with the aid of Jillas, Gravos, and Val, but I was alive again. And in my own body. 

The only explanation for this I could possibly find that would explain my livelihood after having been killed years previously was that which had done the same for Valgaav after being killed by Dark Star. Obsession truly _was_ strong enough to bring about whatever you wanted as long as you wanted it badly enough. Be it curse, love, or even..I chuckle at the thought..Love. 

Looking down to my hands and flexing my fingers into fists, then fanning them back out once more, a loud, booming laugh came from my throat as I felt a tinge of triumph flood through me. 

Not only had I ultimately beaten Phibrizzo's attempts to destroy me completely for insubordinaton upon the Monster race, but I was now able to do what I had so longed to for seventeen years. 

"I'll find you, Val, and mark my words; you will remember me whether you know you do or not. You owe your second life to me, and I'll make sure you keep to your gratitude one way or another. You are mine, Valgaav.."   
**To Be Continued..**


	3. Searching

**Rated:** R   
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance   
**Title:** My Obsession   
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'   
**Author's Note:** This is to cheer Val up a bit since he's been depressed since last night when his fellow got hurt in an accident. It's dedicated to he and Brent, who use the names Val and Gaav on chat rooms, for the underappreciated coupling of the Demon Dragon King and his most loyal servant, Val (i.e., Valgaav.) Don't tell _me_ they're out of character; I know it! Sue me; I _did_ say it was dedicated to Brent and Alonso, after all.. 

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Yay! No more first-person POV chapters for now! On with the show._   
**Chapter Three: Searching**

Three days had gone by since the Demon Dragon King's obsession with seeing Valgaav- now Val -again had resurrected him and he had been on the move ever since in hopes of finding the town where Filia, Jillas, Gravos, and Val now resided. 

And he was _not_ happy. 

"Where the Hell is that damn shop!" growled Gaav as he came to the end of yet another fruitless search in yet another town. "How hard can it be to find a store run by a dragon? Surely there aren't that many non-humans running things!" 

"Excuse me." came a shaky, old voice from behind the tall figure of Gaav. 

Blinking, Gaav turned on the spot, glancing around as he arched a bushy eyebrow then looked down, finally spotting the one who had spoken to him. 

There stood an old woman with her back slightly hunched, a pale blue shawl wrapped over her shoulders, holding a cane in one hand that she clearly was using to walk with. Her eyes were heavily lined but held a kindly expression, though a bit of fear shone in the gently-shaded violet pools. The old woman had her hair kept back carefully within a bun, through which a few stray strands of gray hair, occasionally lighted with the shade it must have originally been of black, peeked out. 

"What is it?" asked Gaav briskly, more than a little wary of her appearance. He had been fooled once before by the form of an old woman who had turned out to be the embodiment of the memories of the Water Dragon King, and wasn't so fond of the idea of allowing it a second time. 

"What shop are you looking for?" asked the old woman kindly, her lips forcing themselves to stretch into a smile, willing herself to show that she was more willing to help than she truly must've been. 

"An antique shop that was set up about seventeen years ago by a blonde woman." Strangely enough, as he explained, Gaav became a bit uneasy and found himself a little at a loss for words on how to convey who he was searching for. He didn't want to give himself away as being the resurrected Demon Dragon King Gaav, one of Ruby Eye Shabranigdo's five lords, nor did he want to give away the true objective of his search for the ex-priestess. "She's-" 

"Yes, I think I know who you mean. There's only one antique shop near here and it's run by just such a woman. She has a boy who's about a foot shorter than yourself; seventeen I think, and quite a looker if you ask me." 

The taller of the two fought back the urge to kill the old woman for her comment of Val seeming attractive. It wasn't that Val's attractiveness bothered him; it was that Val's attractiveness was apparent to others which bothered him. The funny thing was, he hadn't even seen Val yet! 

But if the past were any particular indication of how he would look now.. 

"Young man?" probed the old woman inquizitively, cocking her head to the side as she lifted a brow at him as he entered the third minute of having said nothing in response to her. 

Shaking his head to rouse himself from his thoughts, Gaav looked back down at the older woman. "Where is it?" he asked, trying not to sound too rushed so as not to give away any hints of who he was or who he was after, though his voice betrayed a bit of his attempt. 

Giving a chuckle, the old woman pointed to the left down a path that sat below an old, wooden sign which read, "Kinuto Town." 

A small smirk arose over Gaav's lips as he glanced down the path, narrowing his eyes and catchung sight faintly of a small spot that was the start of a town in the distance down the road the woman had indicated. "So that's where they are.." he mused quietly. 

"Who, young man? Are you looking for someone?" 

"You could say that.." chuckled Gaav, looking back down at the woman from the corner of his eye. 

"Well, I hope you find whoever it is young man. I never caught your name, and I don't think you're from this town. I've never seen you before; I would have known you if you lived here. I'm Edna." 

After a moment of studying the woman, now known to him as Edna, Gaav shook his head, his smirk widening. _She's not much of a threat; it couldn't hurt to tell her who she's in the presence of and I haven't had a good laugh at the reaction of a human who discovered they were in the company of the Demon Dragon King since fighting Lina Inverse and her friends._ he thought to himself. 

"Young man?" Edna prodded him gently with the end of her cane. 

"The name I go by is Gaav." responded the Chaos Dragon shortly, feigning to find something particularly interesting about the birds flying overhead while secretly keeping a close eye on Edna's reaction. 

"Gaav? That's a familiar name, are-" Edna stopped short, her eyes going wider by the second as she stumbled back a step. "Gaav? You're- the Demon-?" 

"The Demon Dragon King." Gaav finished for her, his smirk as wide as it was possible for it to be as he did so. "Yes." 

With a booming laugh, Gaav turned his back to Edna, walking towards the town and leaving the old woman behind to stare at him in disbelief. 

"Val, I'm coming." he chuckled smugly, resting both hands within his pockets.   
**To Be Continued..**


	4. I'll Be Watching You

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'  
**Author's Note:** This is to cheer Val up a bit since he's been depressed since last night when his fellow got hurt in an accident. It's dedicated to he and Brent, who use the names Val and Gaav on chat rooms, for the underappreciated coupling of the Demon Dragon King and his most loyal servant, Val (i.e., Valgaav.) Don't tell _me_ they're out of character; I know it! Sue me; I _did_ say it was dedicated to Brent and Alonso, after all.. 

**My Obsession**

* * *

_I was_ really _close to having Edna killed by Gaav at the end of the chapter before he walked off, but, decided not to for reasons thus far unknown to even me. At last, we can introduce Val and maybe one or two others! Here's where it starts getting interesting._  
**Chapter Four: I'll Be Watching You**

A distance from where Gaav had stood talking with Edna for a few moments, in the heart of the town he was now headed for, four figures were in the midst of an argument.

"Karam! Over here!" shouted a tall brunette boy, arms outstretched towards the sky.

"It's coming your way, Kalem!" Karam shouted, smirking, as the redheaded girl threw a vase that looked quite ancient to her brother.

"Be careful with that!" Val cried out, frowning as he leapt up to catch it, his sea green hair which fell a bit below the shoulders going through the breeze as he did.

Before he was able to grab the vase, however, another boy's hands caught it in the air just out of his reach.

"Chliff, give the vase over." sighed Val, exasperated, as he narrowed his eyes.

Chliff just smirked down at him, black hair catching the evening's fading light so that it made him seem rather pale in comparison to the others. "And if I dont?" he inquired, his smirk widening as he advanced forward, holding the vase just out of Val's reach. "What do you plan to do?"

"Yeah," Karam added in, "Mommy doesn't let you fight. You don't want to go against mommy's orders, do you, Val?"

Before Val was able to say anything, Chliff had swung his arm around his waist and pulled him up against him, smirking down into his face as he leaned in towards him. "Then again, I guess I could give it back to you...For a price."

Rolling his eyes, knowing what the answer would be, Val asked, "What price is that?"

"If you'll put your lips to good use on somethingfor good use instead of just on your face I'll give the vase back to you and give you a little extra gold to go with it that you won't even have to tell your precous mother about. Agreed?"

A large shadow overtook Chliff and Val, blocking the very last traces of the evening's light as it faded away into dusk. Chliff turned around with an amused smirk on his face, an eyebrow arched, expecting to see someone trying to butt into the little affair going on between the four. He received a surprise when he came face-to-chest with the chest section of an orange trench coat.

Eyes widening, Chliff turned pale as his eyes traveled up the chest of the man wearing the trench coat and gazed frightenedly into his face.

Gaav had finally arrived in the town he'd been searching over three days for.

"I think you should release the young man before something happens to you that might make you, if you know what I mean." chuckled Gaav.

Chliff instantly dropped the vase, prompting a shout or worry from Val. Inwardly smirking, Gaav extended one large hand and, with surprising delicacy despite his size and strength, caught the vase, returning it to Val's grasp.

"Thank you." murmured the Ancient Dragon quietly.

Why did it feel like he wanted to hug this stranger out of relief when he'd never seen him before? It made no sense; he _hadn't_ ever seen him before..Had he?

The tall, long-haired redhead gave him a cocky smirk, lifting a bushy eyebrow in an almost fatherly fashion as the three who had been bothering Val ran off for fear of their lives in the light of someone interfering.

"Hello there, Val." Gaav said softly, clapping a hand onto Val's back and grinning.

"Hello..Sir.." replied the shorter of the two nervously, fighting back a blush that threatened to cross over his cheeks.

"Why so formal?" smirked Gaav. "I'd become used to just being referred to by you as Lord."

A chuckle emitted from Gaav's throat as he saw the flash of a temper, the one he'd seen in Filia while he was still watching everything as a spirit, rise into Val's eyes then suddenly disappear. There seemed to be, in place of that temper he had undoubtably picked up from the Golden Dragon, a sense of almost relieved rememberence in the smaller's amber eyes.

It was purely subconscious, however, as was proven by the proud, snide tone of voice Val spoke in when he said, "The only Lord I serve is the Fire Dragon King as my mother taught me to."

Gaav rolled his eyes as Val continued, saying, "Aside from that is the fact I don't know you. How would it be that I refer to you as Lord and not even know you? How do you even know who I am?"

Gaav's smirk widened. _You know me better than you consciously think that you do._ he thought. _You just don't know that yet. Give me time; I'll make you remember me because I won't let go of you that easily, my Valgaav._

"I've known you for a long time." Gaav stated coolly. Well, it wasn't a lie; he _had_ known him for quite a while. After all, Val had served him as Valgaav in his previous life for over a thousand years and there was nothing short to be said about the relationship that could have grown in that period of time if one of them had made a move towards it. More specifically, had Gaav made a move towards one; he had doubted very much that, despite how proud, arrogant, and bold Valgaav had been, he would never have been bold enough to talk to his master about forming a relationship. That would have been quite unservantlike and, since he'd had no idea Gaav had begun to feel for him as more than a master-servant sort of bond, he wouldn't have doubted for one moment that Valgaav, had he ever thought of asking to have a relationship with the Demon Dragon King, would have thought he would be either embarrassed publicly by his master or killed there on the spot.

"Then we must have met when I was very young." concluded Val, carefully wrapping the vase he held in the silken cloth that it had originally been in before it was taken from him earlier on. "I'd remember you otherwise."

_You could say that._ thought Gaav. However, aloud he responded with, "That's right; I don't think you'd remember me because of how long it's been since you've seen me. But, rest assured, we know each other well."

Val seemed reassured by this comment and gave a smile, throwing his free arm around Gaav's neck as though he were an old friend. "Then, remember you or not, it's good to see you!" he said cheerfully, his smile widening.

Placing his own arms around Val's waist to return the hug, Gaav smirked, inwardly rejoicing. This was going better than he could have ever dreamed it would!

"I was just on my way back from the store with this; want to come with me?" asked Val.

"After you, Val. Lead the way." Gaav stated, his smirk growing wider as he did so.

Val pulled back from his former master, turning to walk ahead and reaching behind him to clasp one hand within Gaav's to lead him in the right direction.

Not even a nanosecond later, he quickly released the Chaos Dragon's hand, blushing a bit. "S- sorry. Bet you hate it when people try to lead you like a child, too."

"So long as nobody sees it. Mostly, I have to say, I would kill anybody that tried it. Since I know you, though, you're fine if you want to."

"I know how you feel about not being seen; my mother does it all the time. She seems to forget how old I am."

_You don't even know how old you are, Valgaav._

Stretching his hand forward towards Val, Gaav ran his fingers down the younger's arm with surprising gentleness, stopping only when his fingers laced with Val's. "Lead the way."

Val gave a soft smile, turning back to the front and began walking.

"So, where have you been?" inquired Val.

_Floating around here and there._ "Exploring new realms and the like." was the spoken response.

"What were they like?"

"Lonely, trapping, and frustrating."

Well, that wasn't a lie; they were. Especially when he knew that he wouldn't be able to be reborn into a new body to find Val again. He'd had Phibrizzo to thank for that much.

"Then why go exploring them? It seems pointless if they're that bad."

"I didn't want to. It got thrown on me."

"I'm sorry to- oh! We're almost there!"

_Ruby Eye; I wish I could just phaze us there. But then we'd have to go our separate ways for the night even sooner. Damnit! I hate walking!_ thought Gaav.

"How far is it from here?" the taller of the two asked, lifting an eyebrow curiously.

Val paused for a moment, closing his eyes in thought, one eyebrow of his own arched a ways. "Let's see; at this pace, about another hour!" he stated cheerfully.

_Just like what that Golden Dragon told Lina on their way to talk about that damned prophecy that got you into this, Valgaav._

"An hour and you say we're almost there? How far is your home from the shop?"

"Don't you know?"

"You've moved since I saw you last." murmured Gaav in slight annoyance at Filia.

"Oh. Well, it's not that far. It's about three buildings down is all. Oh! I never did catch your name, but yet you know mine."

_Very subtle._ mused Gaav. _It couldn't hurt to tell him the truth about at least my name, if not the title that accompanies it. Maybe he'll come to his senses if I do and I won't have to keep prodding like this._ "Gaav." _Now to-_

The train of thought Gaav was currently indulging himself in was derailed at that exact moment seeing as Val had apparently stopped and he'd just bumped into the back of the Ancient Dragon.

"Is something wrong?"

Val remained silent, seeming to have not heard what Gaav said to him.

Stepping to one side to peer down at Val's facial features, he noticed a slightly confused, blank expression was spread over his face. Had he said something to confuse him?

"Val?"

Still nothing.

A moment later was when it hit Gaav about what had happened. Something he'd said to Val, probably his name, had triggered a memory from his past life and that had stumped the younger being.

_I see._ the Demon Dragon King mused silently, not wanting to interrupt whatever was going through Val's mind. _So you didn't completely forget about your past with me, did you? Your old self is still buried in your mind, it'll just take valuable time to dig him back up to the surface._

Gaav stood with Val for a few moments, waiting for him to say something or move, becoming more and more impatient as the moments went by as though they were hours.

At last, Val shook his head rapidly, blinking. "What happened?" muttered Val, trying to get a grasp on his surroundings and who he was with. "Oh- I'm sorry. I must have zoned out a minute."

Gaav smiled down at him slightly, pulling Val into his side with his arm around his waist. "It's fine; I need to be going to the nearest place with rooms for rent if I'm going to hang around for long."

"You could stay with my mother, Jillas, Gravos, and I." suggested Val, looking hopeful.

"I couldn't impose. Believe me; they wouldn't want me there."

"Why not?"

"I snore."

_You lie._ Gaav thought to himself. _And badly. You're the Demon Dragon King, one of Ruby Eye Shabranigdo's five Lords, and you can't come up with a better lie than that? Val would have to be stupid to fall for-_

"Oh; then if you're sure you wouldn't join us..About when would I be seeing you again?"

_..He's got to stop staying with that blonde idiot he calls 'Mother' or he'll lose all of his brain cells. Hello, stupidity.._ "Tomorrow, same place, near dawn?"

"That sounds fair; mother will be thrilled to know someone who knows us is in town after so long!"

"Don't tell her." blurted Gaav quickly.

Val arched an eyebrow higher at this. "Why not?" _And why do I think I've known him for longer than I feel that I have?_

"Not yet, anyway." Gaav falsely amended. "I'd rather surprise everyone."

Now _that_ was true. Partially. He really wasn't looking forward to the trouble he'd have out of everyone who would probably come to try and stop him if they found out he were alive and back in town for the sole purpose of retrieving Val from Filia's care.

Val gave a nod of understanding, smiling and shifting the vase he carried into his left arm, wrapping his right one around Gaav's neck in a hug. "Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning." he stated matter-of-factly.

"Of course. I'll be back here tomorrow waiting for you bright and early. It's nice to see you again after so long."

Before Val was able to reply, he'd been pressed against the nearest building's side which hid them in shadow, warm lips pressing against his with brutal yet careful force as two large hands found their way upon his hips, holding them gently against the wall.

When the kiss was broken, Gaav smirked gently down at Val's surprised expression, chuckling as Val's breath came in gasps, heart pounding in his chest and seeming weak-kneed. Yes, this was definitely going to be a fun game. He'd have to play again when he saw him tomorrow. For now, though, it was time to take his leave.

"Remember; same place near dawn. Until then, Val..I'll be watching you."

With another quick kiss to Val's lips, Gaav phazed himself away, leaving the Ancient Dragon behind with his head spinning.  
**To Be Continued..**


	5. Dream On

**Rated:** R   
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance   
**Title:** My Obsession   
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'   
**Author's Note:** This is to cheer Val up a bit since he's been depressed since last night when his fellow got hurt in an accident. It's dedicated to he and Brent, who use the names Val and Gaav on chat rooms, for the underappreciated coupling of the Demon Dragon King and his most loyal servant, Val (i.e., Valgaav.) Don't tell _me_ they're out of character; I know it! Sue me; I _did_ say it was dedicated to Brent and Alonso, after all.. 

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Now_ that _is the way to end a chapter, man. Heh heh. Anyway, on with the story. Right? Let's go!_   
**Chapter Five: Dream On**

_A sharp gasp, followed by a sigh of pleasure, came forth from Val's lips as he arched his back, head tilting against the pillow under his head. _

"Ohh G- Gaav-" panted the young Ancient, tossing his head to one side as he arched his back up towards the Chaos Dragon who leaned down over him, lips clasped over his neck. 

A loud, gruff groan came from Gaav's throat as he lurched forward over Val, eyes tightly closed, while Val's grip around his neck tightened considerably in the last few moments. 

Breathlessly, Gaav and Val lay there entwined within one another's embrace, the few breaths they could manage to catch coming in short gasps as their panting slowly but surely ebbed into steadier breathing as time went by. 

Looking down at Val, Gaav softly pressed his lips against Val's forehead, drifting one hand over his stomach. 

"Lord Gaav, that-" began Val before being cut off. 

Gaav finished, saying, "-That was perfection incarnate." 

A few moments later, after a span of blissful silence which was spent by the two pressing their lips together once again, Val closed his eyes, resting his cheek against Gaav's chest. 

"Who am I?" he asked, uncertainty colouring his tone of voice as he felt his smile slightly dip into a small frown. 

"You're Val." came Gaav's answer not long after the question was asked. 

"I'm Val." repeated the smaller slowly, his smile returning as he felt Gaav roll to lean over him once more, opening his eyes to lock them instantly with those of the dominant partner's. 

Another gentle kiss was placed upon Val's lips as he stretched his arms up to wrap them about Gaav's neck, pulling him gently and lovingly back down closer to him, eyes sliding closed once more as he felt the Demon Dragon King's palm softly cup his neck with the upmost delicacy. 

Once their kiss had been broken, Gaav added, "And you're my Valgaav." 

Why did that sound so familiar to Val? It should have taken him by surprise, being called something he'd never heard before, but he somehow couldn't bring himself to feel any hint of shock towards it. In fact, it felt more natural than being referred to Val ever had. 

"Valgaav?" 

With the blink of an eye, the scenery around Val had disappeared and there was nothing but a black mist all around him. 

Through the mist stepped a figure that looked startlingly similar to himself. Had he not known better, Val would have sworn that it was, indeed, himself that he was seeing. It couldn't have been, though; this person may have had the same colour of hair, eyes, and skin that he did, and may have seemed about as tall as he was, but he had a horn sticking out of his head and a black forehead band wrapped securely in place around his forehead, keeping most of his hair out of the way. 

"Who are-" Val began. 

"Don't pretend you don't know me." sneered the other man. 

"But I-" 

Again, Val was cut off as the other man stated, "You do know me. We are one in the same. You are me, and I am you." 

"What do you-" 

"Don't you understand? Don't you remember anything?" 

By this point, Val was getting aggitated at being interrupted every time he tried to speak. He'd only been in this place with the other man for a few moments and already he had grown to rather dislike him. But he couldn't seem to make himself completely hate him no matter how rude he seemed to be. Something was keeping him from it. It felt as though to hate him would mean hating himself. But that couldn't be true..Could it? 

"Well?" coaxed the other man. 

"What am I supposed to remember? Who are you?" 

"I've told you already; I am you." 

"A name; I want a name." 

By now, Val was more than a bit angry. 

"Very well; if you want a name, then I'll give you one. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Valgaav, servant of the Demon Dragon King, Gaav, and last of the Ancient Dragons. My kind was slaughtered by the Golden Dragons. By the very people the woman who cares for you was born of!" 

Oh sure..Now shock chose to kick into Val's system.. 

"Valgaav.." murmured Val silently to himself, blinking in rememberance of what Gaav had called him a few minutes previously. 

"Yes. Valgaav. You are Val, and Valgaav. Do you remember nothing of the past? You must; you knew enough to recognize when you met with Lord Gaav earlier that you felt some stirrings of feeling for him! You knew enough to know that you felt some kind of loyalty to him despite your not being fully aware of why! You knew you'd met him before, but not where; dig a little into your memory and tell me honestly that you cannot remember a damn thing about who you, yourself, are! Who you were! That you were, at one point in time, me!" 

Val bolted upright in his bed, eyes wide open, heart pounding within the confines of his bare chest. 

"What- what was-" he panted, startled. 

Shaking his head, Val leaned back and put his upper body's weight on his left arm which rested on the bed, covering his face with his other hand. 

"Was all of that that I just saw..Nothing but a dream?" Val asked the darkness inside his room, tilting his head back and staring up at the ceiling for a few moments after removing his hand from over his eyes. 

_It must have been._ thought the Ancient Dragon to himself, calming down a bit while his heartbeat regulated once more. _I don't know of anyone called Valgaav._

Somehow, this felt like a lie to Val. He _did_ know someone named Valgaav. It seemed to be the ghost of a memory, but he couldn't remove the image of the man who called himself Valgaav that looked so much like him out of his mind. And the words he spoke echoed through his thoughts as though someone had tapped a crystal glass to get a room's attention. 

"My kind was slaughtered by the Golden Dragons. By the very people the woman who cares for you was born of!" Valgaav had growled at him. 

But, Val was an Ancient Dragon. If Val were one, and Valgaav claimed to be both the last living Ancient Dragon and Val himself, then what he'd said- 

But what had the beginning of his dream meant? What was his purpose of dreaming about the man who he'd met earlier that night who'd taken part of his heart with one single kiss, and more with a second? 

He didn't even know Gaav very well, or at least he didn't think he did, and yet here he had been dreaming about the two of them in a rather intimate situation. 

And Gaav had called him Valgaav as well.. 

Laying onto his back on the bed once more, Val closed his eyes and heaved a sigh, keeping a yawn held back. 

"It couldn't have meant anything.." Val assured himself as he slowly drifted to sleep once more. "Not a thing..My name is Val Ul Copt.." 

All through the rest of the night, despite his telling himself he hadn't known Gaav for as long as it felt he had, Val couldn't help but find himself jolting up every now and then from a dream of he and the redheaded man from earlier in more of the same types of dreams as the first had been. 

One of which included him watching from a third-person point of view as Gaav and the man who had called himself Valgaav lay entwined within each other's warm embrace, panting soft, passionate nothings to each other as they did so.   
**To Be Continued..**


	6. The Meeting

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'  
**Author's Note:** Well, I accomplished my mission of cheering Alonso up. Now he just wants to see it finished..What have I gotten myself into now? 

**My Obsession**

* * *

_There's something about starting and ending stories with romance that makes it a little bit more interesting, ne? Yeah..I couldn't resist the urge to start chapter five like that; sue me. This one's a little bit slow so bear with me._  
**Chapter Six: The Meeting**

"Good morning, Val!" Filia called over her shoulder brightly to the boy, smiling as she finished preparing the water for the morning tea she and Val normally shared.

Filia could never quite figure out why, but Jillas and Gravos never quite seemed to get into the swing of having morning tea like the two of them did. They seemed to prefer something a little stronger. Of course, that meant she wouldn't be allowing them near Val for a few hours until they sobered up..

When Val failed to answer to her, the ex-priestess blinked in curiosity, turning around to inspect him. "Is something wrong, Val?" she inquired.

Opening the eye on the side closest to Filia, Val paused in mid-yawn, the back of his hand covering his mouth.

The sight struck Filia as being so amusing that she couldn't help but burst into a small fit of giggles at him.

"I'm fine." Val murmured at last once he'd finished off the yawn, a little aggitated at the woman.

"Are you sure? You don't look very well today."

Having grown a bit concerned, Filia placed the tea kettle back down on the stove, making her way to Val and removing the glove from her left hand, placing it gently upon Val's forehead.

"What are you doing?" Val asked. A pointless question, he knew; she'd done this several times in the past whenever she thought he looked or sounded a bit sick.

"I'm checking to see if you have a fever. If you do, we need to get you to a doctor and see if you've contracted any viruses lately."

"I'm fine, mother; really."

Filia would hear nothing of it. She kept her hand planted upon his forehead for a few moments longer before removing it with a smile, leaning down to gently kiss his forehead in a motherly fashion.

"You don't feel like you have a fever..Did you sleep well last night?"

At this, Val shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Not very." he admitted after a few seconds of silence passed by which Filia had spent watching him carefully, a concerned expression still on her face despite the smile that she wore.

"What was wrong? Did you have any nightmares?"

_Oh, no.._ thought Val quietly to himself. _She's going into mother overdrive now..I should have just kept my big fat mouth shut._

"No, they weren't nightmares exactly..I don't know what you'd call them."

A look of understanding dawned upon Filia's face as she smiled a bit wider, turning a little red at the thought in her mind.

"Val, have we covered all the aspects of puberty yet?" she asked.

_It's a bit late,_ the Golden Dragon thought to herself, _but if he seems this uncomfortable about a dream that wasn't a nightmare..Then maybe-_

"Mother!" Val cried out, going a shade deeper of red than Filia had been.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Filia giggled at the outburst and the expression on Val's face.

"I suppose we have, then."

"Yes! I don't care to do it again!"

"It's not that embarrassing; it's a natural part of growing-"

"Moooootheeeer..!" whined the younger dragon.

Standing back to her feet, Filia chuckled as she shuffled off back to the stove, replacing her glove on her hand once more.

Looking back over her shoulder at Val, Filia smiled playfully as she said, "I think I know what might be doing it."

Val sighed, humoring her, and asked, "What, mother?"

The woman narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion, holding back a laugh. "Have you been kissing anyone lately I don't know about?"

Instantly, Val's eyes widened considerably as he choked on a breath of air.

At the sound of this, Filia paused her actions immediately, blinking, and turned slightly to look at Val who had successfully gone three shades deeper than Lina's hair ever was.

The look of surprise melted away in a matter of seconds as Filia took in the appearance of her son and she grinned happily, rushing over and flopping back down into the chair she'd been sitting in previously.

"Oooh, you have!" she cried out, leaning closely to Val. "Tell me all about it!"

Val remained silent, however, and so Filia opened her eyes, staring into his evenly, her smile unwavering. "Come on; tell your mother all about it!" she coaxed gently, her tone of voice excited. "Ooh, my baby's first kiss!"

"I..Would rather not talk about it, mother..If that's okay with-"

"Can you tell me who with, then? We can always wait for the interesting details until later on!"

"I..Er." Pausing a moment, Val thought back to what Gaav had said last night about keeping his being in town a secret until he'd found use to inform everyone. Well, he never said he couldn't describe it..And now that Filia was so excited about it, he thought, it was kind of something he would want to talk about with at least one person. It was, after all, the first one he'd had and it was definitely one for the intimacy records..After a few moments of debating, Val grinned at Filia and launched into explanation.

"Well, they were really tall with wild, long red hair;blue eyes-"

"Oh, thank goodness it's not who I thought!"

Instantly, Val froze up, looking directly into Filia's eyes. Did she know who he had meant after all and didn't mind his advances towards him?

"I'm sorry, Val; I interrupted you." Filia apologized automatically, covering her mouth with her hand in slight embarrassment. "Go ahead and finish. What was it like?"

"It was warm, gentle..Passinate."

"Ooh, I'm so happy for you!"

Leaning over to Val, Filia wrapped her arms around his neck cheerfully, a genuine smile crossing over her lips. She _seemed_ happy enough for him..

_Just wait until she finds out who it is that kissed me._ thought Val to himself, feeling a bit nervous.

All at once, it hit Val: he had overslept his dawn meeting with Gaav!

Leaping from the chair, Val dashed madly to the door, swinging it open. "Mother, I'll be back shortly! I hate to leave like this but there was someone I had to talk to and I'm late now as it is!"

With this said, the young dragon rushed outside and made his way as quickly as possible downtown towards the spot he was supposed to have met Gaav.

Val glanced around for a moment once he was at the location he and Gaav had promised to meet each other at dawn. After a few moments, he sighed; he didn't see any sign of the taller man anywhere and was losing confidence in the thought of being lucky enough for the man to have waited on him for over four hours. The only people he saw were the same three who had been picking on him last night who stood with all the group but Chliff glaring at him. Chliff, unlike the two siblings, was more leering at him, but didn't seem content to make a move towards him this morning. Aside from those three, there was a miniature crowd gathered around one of the benches against the stores lined up on the sidewalks, but that was all.

Sighing in disinterest at the idea of what the group might have been watching in what was more than likely the store window than the bench, Val frowned to himself as he turned his back to them and began to walk away.

Before he had even had the time to react to the shadow overtaking him, Val gave a loud moan in spite of telling himself not to at the sensation of a large, strong hand cupping the inside of his thigh from around his waist, a second one slowly and gently trailing up his chest to run its fingers down his collar bone and causing his eyes to flutter shut, tilting his head away from the fingers to allow better access.

The moan turned into a heated purr of pleasure when a pair of lips locked over the crook of his neck softly.

Val faintly heard Chliff growl at the actions made towards him but could have cared less as the hands gently traveled up at a teasing, agonizingly slow pace.

"Did you think I wouldn't wait for you for as long as it took, my Val?" chuckled Gaav, gently squeezing Val's inner thigh just a few centimeters shy of where he had his sights currently leveled.

"I- no- ohh Gaav.." It was official; Val's self-control had snapped and his knees were now as useful to him as though they were made of water. In fact, the only thing that kept him from falling to the ground then and there were the Chaos Dragon's hands holding him in arousing locations.

Sensing he should stop before they went a bit further than Val would care to in public- or at least until he was back to who he once was as Valgaav again -Gaav removed the hand that was making its way further up his chest, pressing it instead against Val's other thigh.

"I'd wait for you for as long as it took you to get here and then some if the need arose, Val." stated the redhead gruffly into Val's ear, sending a pleased shiver down the Ancient Dragon's spine. "Even through death and into eternity."

Stiffening a moment, all thoughts left Val's mind but for what he had dreamed last night of he and the other man together, followed by the unsettling one of Valgaav confronting him about who he supposedly was inside.

"Val?" asked Gaav.

_It's no use._ thought the Demon Dragon King to himself after a moment of staring into Val's vacant expression, carefully and gently pulling the younger man to his chest to keep him from spilling out of his arms and injuring himself while he was so obviously lost in thought. _I triggered some sort of memory again; he'll be taking a bit of time to think about that one just like last night's. Why does this process have to go so slowly! Why can't everything just come back at him like it had never left to begin with?_

Somewhere in his mind, Gaav knew the answer. And that part of his mind was giving him Hell about the idea of helping it along faster. _You know what forcing all of those memories into him would do to that boy very well; just discard that thought right now!_ it snapped vehemently.

_What would that be?_

_You'll rip him apart with that. He seems to like being the person he would have been had the Golden Dragons not killed his people and given him need to turn to you; do you think he'd appreciate being reminded of how much pain he had to deal with in the past when he's so happy now? Valgaav and Val would literally be battling for control over his body and whose memories he should maintain and follow._

_I hate it when you're right._

_Gaav, talking to yourself? It's not very healthy; you should know that._

A minute or so later, Gaav heard a minute groan of pain come from the dragon he held in his arms gently.

Gaav glanced down at Val in hidden concern, arching an eyebrow at him. "Are you alright?"

"Headache..I'm fine, though." fibbed Val.

Well, it wasn't a complete lie. He did have a headache; it was from thinking so hard in such a short span of time. Not that _that_ wasn't uncommon..Ooh, no..

"No you aren't; you look exhausted. I guess you didn't sleep too well last night, hmm?"

Gaav couldn't resist a chuckle at the horrified, embarrassed look that took its place across Val's face as he registered these words. What was so terrible about having a bad night's sleep?

True; as a Mazoku, Gaav didn't really need to sleep to keep himself healthy. But Val, being a dragon, did.

When Val failed to answer him, Gaav shook his head quietly, hoisting the smaller form into his arms and giving his neck an inconspicuous kiss as he began to walk away from the crowd that had begun staring at the two.

"What are you doing!" cried Val, blinking. "I can walk, really; I'm-"

"Not well from the looks of your eyes. I'm going to take you to my temporary abode for a while until you feel a little bit better. Then we can continue with our little endevour. Alright, Val?"

The sea green-haired boy stared quietly down at his hands, which rested in his lap, fingers laced together. He knew Gaav had taken his silence to mean 'Yes.' But still, he couldn't help feeling quite flattered and somewhat annoyed at the same time towards the man carrying him. A part of his mind was screaming that he could take care of himself and didn't need to be carried like a helpless young girl, but a part of him was telling him that he was enjoying this. He _did_ enjoy the fact that the man seemed so concerned over him and seemed to care so much for him already in the short time they had known each other most recently, and Val did have to admit at least one thing if nothing else:

He coudn't stop feeling as though he'd knwon Gaav for longer than the seventeen years he could recall being alive.  
**To Be Continued..

* * *

By the way, thanks to ****possessed-anarchist** for telling me the eye colour mess up; I didn't notice it and could never find a picture close up enough of Gaav's face to get the eye colour. That, and my Slayers DVD's are all on the fritz right now for some reason (that, or my DVD Player. Either way they won't play for me) so I couldn't check his eye colour with them.


	7. Wait 'Til the Time is Right

**Rated:** R   
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance   
**Title:** My Obsession   
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'   
**Author's Note:** Well, I accomplished my mission of cheering Alonso up. Now he just wants to see it finished..What have I gotten myself into now? 

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Ta da! Chapter seven already; I'm so proud. It's making great progress. I just wish more people liked this coupling darn it! Oh, well; I don't really know what of the two choices I have I want to use to end the story once it's time to draw it to a close. There are two ideas in my head but I'm torn between which to use. We'll see how it ends when it gets there, ne? On with the show! Er..Story!_   
**Chapter Seven: Wait 'Til the Time is Right**

Unfortunately, Gaav's idea of taking Val to his room and setting him down to let him rest immediately was far from what happened. 

Gaav did put Val on the floor once they got in, but he had been a ways away from letting him rest, for the very instant he had allowed the Ancient Dragon's feet to touch the ground Gaav had pushed the smaller of the two back against a wall gently, guiding him by the hips, and captured Val's lips in a heated, lust-filled kiss. 

Several quick, rough and passionate kisses later, Val tilted his head back as Gaav began to trail kisses down his throat and ran his hands over Val's chest and stomach, hands catching the belt around Val's waist to remove it. 

"Ohh..Ohh G- Gaav-!" sighed the dragon, arching forward slightly. "Ooohh Lord G-" 

Simultaneously, both Val and Gaav paused in their actions. 

"What did you-" began Gaav. 

Biting his bottom lip for a moment, Val launched forward, pressing his lips to Gaav's passionately, one hand resting on the back of his neck as the other took one of Gaav's hands and guided it upon his upper thigh eagerly. 

Gaav lifted an eyebrow at the young dragon's eagerness and hopes for derailing the question. Val probably didn't even know, himself, why he had almost called him Lord Gaav after so long. There was no possible way for him to remember completely who he had been in the past. 

Shrugging, the Chaos Dragon guided Val towards the bed he'd slept in the previous night, gently pushing him against the mattress as their lips locked once more, tongues beginning a fierce dance with one another. As Val's arms wrapped longingly around Gaav's back, hands gripping weakly at the backs of Gaav's shoulders, Gaav chuckled down at his former servant. "Anxious aren't we, Val?" he growled, running his hands down Val's hips. 

"I- I can't explai- explai- explain why it- _oh Gaav-!_" 

Gaav smirked even wider down at Val, removing his fingers from the submissive partner's abdomen. "Can't explain what?" 

"It's- it's too fast..But I can't help feeling like half of me thinks it's been an eternity until this point..I want you; I've only known you for under a day, but I want you. It feels like I've been wanting this for-" 

Gaav was mentally kicking himself. _Of course he'd have wanted me as Valgaav and I didn't see it. That's just how my luck seems to go, isn't it! Of course he'd want me as Val but think it's too soon; he has Valgaav in him somewhere, but he's still Val the Ancient Dragon, and he's never been with anyone before apparently. Val may be Valgaav, but he doesn't know that he's known me for that long; he thinks he's known me for about a day that he can remember and here I am poised to let him unknowingly seduce me into taking him without thinking about- Ruby Eye how much of an idiot can I be!_

Gaav looked back down at Val again, gently sliding his palm down Val's thigh and around the back of his leg, removing it and placing it on the bed, pulling Val into a sitting position upon his lap with a soft kiss. "Look." he began, "I've had ages to be with pretty much whoever I wanted. You apparently haven't been with anyone like this yet." 

Val glanced down, embarrassed, but was gently forced to look into Gaav's eyes when the taller man's hand tilted his chin up. 

"You'll only have one first, and as much as I'd kill anybody in my way to be the one who takes you first, it's too quick for your pace. I don't come across as a patient person, but for you Val..I'll wait until you're really ready. Not until you're just sure you can't take wanting it anymore, when you're actually ready for it. Alright?" 

Sighing in content, Val cracked a smile, leaning forward and kissing Gaav lightly, arms again around his neck. "Thank you. When is mother going to find out you're in town?" 

"In a few more days. I'd like to be with you a few days longer before I let anyone ho knows me know that I'm here; if I don't, I'll be stuck spending the most time with then as opposed to you." 

That was definitely not a lie. If anyone who had traveled in Lina's group for any period of time discovered that the Demon Dragon King were alive once more and, further more, were in town to retrieve Valgaav from the past, he'd never have any time to spend with Val. All of it would be devoted to battling the forces of good and "justice." 

"Gaav?" 

Pulling Val closely to himself, Gaav pressed their lips together. "Yes?" he asked. 

Once the kiss was through, Val gave a small smile, a faint tinge of red on his cheeks from blushing, and whispered, "I..Love- I don't know how to say it.." 

"Try just letting it out." 

"I love you." 

Smirking, Gaav kissed Val again. "I love you too." he responded after a few moments. _..And here they say a Mazoku can't love. Having a human soul is a good thing at times._

Leaning forward so that Val's back met softly with the mattress behind him, Gaav leaned down to rest beside him, holding his arm out. 

Val smiled widely, sliding over a few inches to rest his head on Gaav's arm and closed his eyes serenely, shuddering pleasantly as Gaav's arms draped around his waist, the man's red hair having been carelessly tucked behind him so neither of them would lay on it. 

"Rest, Val." instructed Gaav soothingly. "You must've had a bad night's sleep; I'll be here while you sleep and when you wake up. If you have any nightmares, I'll chase them away for you." 

With a sleepy yawn, Val nuzzled closer into Gaav's side. "Thank you.." he sighed, quickly drifting to sleep. 

As Gaav watched Val fall asleep, one thought crossed through his mind. 

_Val, Valgaav; I don't care who you are or what you go by. You belong to me; you always have and you will again. I swear it._   
**To Be Continued..**


	8. Guess Dragons are Heavy Drinkers

**Rated:** R   
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance   
**Title:** My Obsession   
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'   
**Author's Note:** Well, I accomplished my mission of cheering Alonso up. Now he just wants to see it finished..What have I gotten myself into now? 

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Aw, I'm so happy with how chapter seven worked out. So sweet and yet so out of character it made me cry. I wrote this listening to "Only Lonely Soldier;" what better song to listen to when making a fic like this? I came up with a perfect idea for how to bring Lina and the gang into this thanks to puzzling over how to work out how this chapter would fit into the storyline. I decided it'll have a bit more to do with Chliff. Heh heh. But that's all I'll tell you; the rest you have to read to discover._   
**Chapter Eight: Guess Dragons are Heavy Drinkers**

About four hours later, the two stirred awake and Val yawned quietly, worming his way tighter into the taller's embrace. 

"Did you sleep well?" asked Gaav, his arms wrapped securely around the younger dragon's waist as he kissed the top of Val's head tenderly. 

Val nodded, smiling up at his secret boyfriend. "Yes; thanks." 

Nodding his response, Gaav stood to his feet and made his way over to the miniature table where there was a bottle of fine wine. After uncorking the bottle and pouring two glasses, he carefully handed one to Val. 

"What's this?" asked Val. 

"Red wine, love." came Gaav's reply. "Try a bit. I think you'd like it." 

Mentally, Gaav was smirking to himself in satisfaction as he watched Val take a small sip of what the glass held. He'd seen Valgaav drunk before and had to admit it had been quite an interesting, as well as arousing, experience. 

For all of Valgaav's tough talk and rebellious attitude, the Ancient-Mazoku halfling was a shameless flirt and prone to extreme seduction attempts when drunk. 

Once the wine had had time to settle about him, though, and Valgaav had satisfactorily given the Demon Dragon King as well as a few of his other followers extremely, painfully tight pants, Gaav had decided it would be a wise idea to lead him up to his room to let him sleep off the drunken state but once they'd arrived, Gaav found himself unable to leave him. He'd seemed almost..About to cry at the look on Valgaav's face. 

He'd asked why, only to discover that Valgaav'd been one Hell of an actor when it came to hiding how he felt. 

And now, Gaav wanted to test Val and see what his reaction to wine would be now that he was a full Ancient Dragon, rather than half Ancient Dragon and half Mazoku. If it was half that of Valgaav's, he could look forward to some wonderful times with this boy in the future when he declared himself ready for whatever Gaav had in mind for him in the sexual field. 

Snapping back to reality, Gaav realized Val had been rather quiet for the past few seconds and glanced over at him. Raising an eyebrow, Gaav noticed Val had already drained his glass as well as half of what had once remained within the bottle of wine. 

_I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for my own eyes; Val's even more of a hard drinker as a pure dragon than when he was half dragon and half Mazoku!_ he thought to himself, chuckling aloud. 

"What's funny?" inquired Val, tilting his head to one side in curiosity, smirking widely as he scanned Gaav's form appraisingly. 

Sensing the ideas going through Val's mind, Gaav stood and strode over to his side, pressing him back onto the bed as he had earlier. With a gentle kiss upon his lips, Gaav moved down a bit, clamping his mouth over Val's neck and leaving a mark where his lips had been to claim the dragon for himself. 

"You're mine, Valgaav." 

Shuddering slightly under Gaav's wine breath and gentle touch, Val slid his eyes shut, seeming to have not heard the Chaos Dragon's statement.   
**----   
Lina:** When do I come onto the scene again! It's my show, not Gaav's!   
**DMTS:** Later, now hush; you're interrupting the story.   
**Lina:** (through narrowed eyes, glaring at the author) Darkness beyond twilight..   
**Zelgadiss:** Lina, not here! As the author, Duo has authority to kill us if he pleases!   
**Lina:** I don't care; I'm takin' him down! _This is my show!_ Crimson beyond blood that flows..!   
**Amelia:** (nervously sweatdropping and putting sunglasses on herself as Zelgadiss, Gourry, Xelloss, Filia, Gaav, Val, and DMTS do so as well) Ooh, she's lost her temper again..   
**Lina:** Buried in the stream of time..   
**DMTS:** ..Author's Irradication!   
(A giant eraser appears over Lina's head and begins chasing her around.)   
**Xelloss:** Isn't that just a bit harsh, Lord Author?   
**DMTS:** (Thoughtful for a moment, then,) ..Nah.   
**Filia:** What do we do now?   
**DMTS:** Zel, why don't you do the honours? (grinning over at him)   
(Zelgadiss turns chibi, a fist clenched and raised into the air, jumping.)   
**Zelgadiss:** Back to the show!   
**----**   
After a few hours longer of laying together and idle chat, the whole time through which Val spent flirting with Gaav, it was beginning to get dark.and, to make matters worse, Val hadn't sobered up yet. Gaav knew he needed to get Val back to Filia before she or someone else Val stayed with came out looking for him and discovered that he'd been with none other than the Demon Dragon King since he'd left. 

Oh, dilema. 

Gaav couldn't walk Val back to his house; he'd be sure to be spotted by one of Val's caretakers. But, at the same time, he couldn't leave him to the mercy of his own defenses on his way home. 

More than a bit annoyed at the situation, Gaav murmured under his breath in frustration, snapping his fingers. 

A moment after his having done so, Val jumped back against his partner, startled by the sudden appearance of a man and woman who both had long, wavey platinum blonde hair and fair complections before him. 

Looking down in hidden concern to Val, Gaav placed his palm gently against Val's lower back in reassurance, locking his eyes with the Ancient Dragon's for double the assurance that he would allow no harm to befall him. 

Smirking, the man and woman seemed oblivious to this silent promise as the man reached his arm out towards Val, pressing clawed fingers into his throat as he clasped his hand around Val's neck tightly. 

Val automatically winced in pain. 

Looking up to Gaav, the woman chuckled. "Do you want us to take care of this little pest?" she inquired, leaning down so her face met Val's, hazel snake slit eyes locked with Val's golden amber ones. 

Gaav grabbed the man's wrist tightly which held onto Val's neck, wrenching his hand away from his love's throat quickly, eyes narrowed menacingly at the two. "No." growled the Chaos Dragon in response. "If I hear either of you've harmed that one, you'll both regret what you did highly. That one is important to me; allow him to see no harm come to himself or I'll kill both of you no matter who is to blame!" 

When no response came from the two, Gaav reached an arm out to each of them, fingers wrapping tightly around their necks. "Understood, Harriz?" 

The man nodded quickly at this. 

Turning his gaze to the woman, Gaav growled, "Understood, Karri?" 

The woman followed suit of the first man's actions. 

"You're going to take this boy to the grey house on the left down the street. That moronic human won't think to hurt him or he knows what will happen to him." 

Harriz glanced over at Val from the corner of his eyes, gripping at the hand still holding him off the ground by his throat. As Val gently kissed a path down Gaav's shoulder in his drunken state, Harriz asked, "Why do we need to take him there?" 

"The boy can take him home." 

It was Karri's turn to be confused now. "Why do you wish for him to take him but not us? Are we not your loyal servants? Have we not proven ourselves in the past during the years you were around previously?" 

"You idiot; that's _not_ why he'll be doing it! This young one is residing with a woman who disallows Monsters near her home! There is a barrier there even I cannot penetrate; it keeps Monsters from going in. To ensure his safety, I'm sending him with someone who not only fears me, but who is capable of breaching the barrier unharmed until the boy is inside!" 

At length, Gaav put the two back onto the ground, arms winding protectively around Val's hips. 

Harriz looked down towards Val's eyes, smirking, and slid one hand down his leg appraisingly, allowing Val to see the look of lusting in his eyes. "So you found yourself a nice sale?" he inquired, chuckling. "I wouldn't want the one I bought getting damaged, either." 

Gaav suppressed the urge to kill Harriz on the spot, instead focusing his attention upon Val's his and squeezing them gently, reveling in the soft moans coming from him as he did so. "He's not a cheap whore; look at him closer. Tell me you don't see something familiar about him." 

"What would possibly be familiar about this kid?" 

"I've seen you leering at him before; you don't think it's unusual that he looks so familiarly beautiful?" 

Shaking his head skeptically, Harriz looked down into the drunken youth's eyes, his own widening as he leaned closer to the boy. "His aura is that of one older than this boy seems to be; his eyes seem more weary and hate-filled than the rest of-" A momentary pause. "His magical aura..It's that of an- it's not possible! This boy is an Ancient Dragon, isn't he! The only Ancient Dragon left alive after the massacre was-" 

"Yes." 

"But that can't be possible; that would mean..Is this boy V-" 

"Enough. Just go; yes, he's the same Ancient Dragon that he was before. I'll still kill you if you do anything to him and now that I found him again I'll kill you if you let anything happen to him. Understood, you two?" 

Nodding in amazement, Karri and Harriz kept their eyes levelly with Val's as they began to turn to walk out. 

Gaav arched an eyebrow at his two servants, sliding his hands from Val's waist and gently kissing the back of his head before sitting the ditzy teenager back up again. "Are you forgetting something?" 

Turning on her heels, Karri bowed apologetically to her master, gently pulling Val to his feet by the hand and leading him towards the door. 

"Remember," Gaav called after the two before they closed the door, "If anything happens to him I'll kill you."   
**To Be Continued..**


	9. Presssure

**Rated:** R   
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance   
**Title:** My Obsession   
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'   
**Author's Note:** Well, I accomplished my mission of cheering Alonso up. Now he just wants to see it finished..What have I gotten myself into now? 

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Yay. Chapter eight_ wasn't _completely sucky! I like the excuse I came up with for Gaav, Karri, and Harriz not personally escorting Val back to his house. It all works out for the best after all. Now I just have to figure out how to end it of the two ways I have open to me!_   
**Chapter Nine: Pressure**

Chliff looked to the side at the one he had been instructed to direct home. 

He had been pulled from his early retirement to bed by a man and woman calling themselves Harriz and Karri. To say the least, Chliff wasn't happy about that at all. Especially considering he had to work in the morning. 

The boy looked to his side at Val, chuckling as the sound of the young dragon humming reached his ears. 

"You're in a good mood." grumbled Chliff. 

"Yup!" chirpped Val. 

"Boyfriend?" 

"Yup." 

"Get laid?" 

"Nope.." 

"Wanted to?" 

"..." 

Chliff arched an eyebrow. _Now_ he was getting somewhere! The dragon had gotten progressively unsure of his responses the more he pried about it; he'd had to pause on the last question. 

_It's my chance now; I have a small window of opportunity!_ thought the taller boy, scooting closer to Val. 

After a while, Val still remained silent and Chliff slinked one arm around his waist. "Did you?" he coaxed gently. 

"I suppose so." sighed Val, brow furrowing in the wake of a headache now forming. 

"Still want to?" 

"He's not here." 

A smirk crossed over Chliff's lips at this. Looking directly into Val's eyes, he lowered his hand past the other boy's waistline, pressing a kiss to his jaw as he whispered, "No; but I am." 

With no more words spoken between the two, Chliff pulled Val gently to the alleyway of two buildings close together where they would be hidden by the shadows, chuckling mentally at his success towards getting Val to even get this far along with him without disagreement. 

Of course, it helped that the sea-green-haired youth's boyfriend had gotten him completely smashed somehow. All the liquor the dragon must have consumed had made him more than a bit tipsy and had clearly impared his sense of judgement. 

A triumphant grin spread its way onto Chliff's face as he pinned Val to the alley's wall securely, holding his hands together at the wrists behind his back. In the midst of butterfly kisses placed along Val's throat which earned him a few gentle moans, Chliff muttered into his ear ferrally, "Not so outfront brave when you're drunk to make me stop whatever I do to you, now, are you?" 

Val had no time to answer when Chliff moved in and took his lips in a fierce kiss, forcing one hand down his pants and groping him roughly. 

"Chli- Chliff-" stammered Val when the kiss ended, head tilted back involuntarily. 

A small distance from the two, unnoticed by either of them, Harriz and Karri sat upon the roof of a building observing the events. 

Karri's eyes narrowed as she watched Chliff's forceful progress on the still-out-of-it Val, who was too deeply into a headache and too impaired to fully comprehend what was happening. "Should we not interfere?" asked the woman skeptically. 

Harriz chuckled quietly, staring down at the scene playing before the pair of them. "Our Lord Gaav told us that we were to let no harm come to Valgaav. However, getting yourself pleasured is far from harm, now, isn't it?" he smirked and asked rhetorically. 

Karri continued to look skeptical but shook her head, looking back down at Chliff and Val. 

At this point Chliff had successfully flipped the young dragon onto the ground and nudged his legs apart with one knee, mercilessly attacking his hips with his hands and one nipple with his mouth after pulling the shirt from Val's back and discarding it carelessly. 

At length, Karri spoke up again, murmuring, "This feels wrong. Lord Gaav clearly had an attachment to Valgaav back in the room of that inn. What if he discovers what's happening? What if he finds out we didn't make any attempts to stop it from progressing?" 

"You worry too much, dear Karri." Harriz snorted, drifting one hand down his stomach and onto his lap, eyes glued to the beautiful form of the moaning Ancient Dragon whose back arched barely an inch into the air. 

"Oh must you do that in my presence?" 

Harriz chuckled, sliding his hand into the brim of his pants, holding back a groan of interest as Chliff did the same to Val. 

Understanding that she would receive no answer, Karri sighed and rolled her eyes, kicking her legs from the edge of the building in boredom. She wanted them to either stop or finish up quickly so they could resume their mission of seeing that Val was returned safely to Filia's. 

"Little more.." growled Harriz from beside her, eyes remaining locked on Val's form. "Just a-" 

Karri groaned in annoyance, turning away so she didn't have a front-row view of her partner. "I still think Lord Gaav would be displeased at this. That is, after all, Valgaav." 

"He- doesn't know that yet, though, does- does he?" 

The beginning of a shout of pain came from Harriz's lips, but stopped almost as quickly as it started. Instantly, Karri turned, in a panic, to see who the culprit was of whatever had happened. When her eyes fell upon Harriz, however, she was greeted with the sight of the other monster split in half at her side. 

"No, he doesn't." came a furious voice from behind her. 

Turning around, Karri's eyes widened considerably as shebacked away from the tall, threatening form of Gaav with his sword unsheathed and red with Harriz's blood, nearly falling over the edge of the roof. "Lord Gaav!" she cried. 

"Karri, what was so hard about obeying my orders? I said Val wasn't to be harmed!" 

These were the last words she heard before Gaav's sword slit completely through her throat. After a few moments, Gaav yanked the blade from her neck and kicked the bodies of Karri and Harriz off of the opposite side of the roof, phazing to the ground behind Chliff. 

"You!" growled the Chaos Dragon, lifting the boy's feet from the ground. 

At the sound of Gaav's voice, Val blinked hazily, finding himself without the energy he needed to sit up. Added with that was his headache, which was now many times worse than whan it had first begun. 

Chliff's eyes widened when he realized that this was the same man who had confronted him just a couple of days back and who had swept Val off his feet earlier that day right in front of him. His heart thudded against his chest wildly and the sight of the blood-drenched sword did nothing to help calm him down. 

"What do you want?" grumbled the boy, his voice betraying his frightened state severely though he tried to cover it. 

"I believe you were about to take something that doesn't belong to you, human." 

The cold, hateful look in the Demon Dragon King's eyes brought Chliff to shudder a little involuntarily, finding himself unable to look away from them. His fear paralyzed him, making him unable to struggle. 

Throwing Chliff back against the wall opposite that which the boy had earlier forced Val against, Gaav gripped his sword tightly within one hand as he took Val's own hand gently within his empty one, pulling him carefully and delicately up to his feet and bringing him to his chest, hugging the dragon protectively. Had Chliff not thought he knew better he could have sworn he almost saw a look of what could only have been described as fright in the tall man's eyes as his brows furrowed before the blue pools closed in relief, wraping both his arms around the smaller's waist, careful not to hurt him with the sword which he still held clasped in one hand. 

"Val, are you hurt? Did that asinine mortal do anything to hurt you? How far did-" begam Gaav gently in Val's ear, still clutching the drunken youth softly in his embrace. 

"We didn't, sir." Chliff stuttered, forcing his courage back up to speak for the lithe boy, trembling in uncontrolable fear. In answering, he hoped the sword-weilding man would believe him and let him escape with his life. 

Gaav gently set his lips onto Val's, pulling back after a moment and turning his head to face Chliff, eyes narrowed as he growled venomously to him, "You're going to be facing the penalty for making advances on _my_ Val, you delusional moron." 

Carefully setting Val against the wall and instructing him to keep his eyes closed tightly, Gaav took a few steps in Chliff's direction, smirking wider as the youth tried fruitlessly to disappear through the brick wall his back pressed against. 

Chliff decided to take a chance at escaping, leaping to his feet and running off as quickly as he could in hopes of either the sword-weilding-man changing his mind about killing him or, should he give chase, of losing him. 

With narrowed eyes, Gaav's rage boiled past the point of no return and he phazed himself out, reappearing directly in front of Chliff with his sword held in front of him. 

In a brief moment, Chliff had met face-to-chest with Gaav, eyes wide in pain as he looked shakily down to his stomach where the sensation originated. 

There, completely bedded within his stomach, was the sword he'd been so afraid of. Because of how suddenly Gaav had appeared in front of him and how quickly he'd been running, he had been unable to slow down in enough time to avoid impaling himself on the blade. 

Chliff opened his mouth as though to speak, but Gaav simply kicked the youth off his sword's blade, re-sheathing it in one clean motion and stepping over his quickly-dying body to make his way back to Val. 

Grabbing the Ancient Dragon carefully in his arms, Gaav placed a kiss upon his lips and began walking off towards the inn again. 

"Wasn't I going home?" groaned Val tiredly, his headache still throbbing in his temples. 

"You're going back to my place for a while. You can go to your house tomorrow when things cam down a little. You have to sober up a little bit. I don't want anything like that happening to you again. I'll kill the next bastard who tries a thousand times over again."   
**To Be Continued..**


	10. Word Gets Around Fast

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_I'm rather proud of how this story is turning out so far. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update it; I couldn't figure out how to end the last one. Time to bring in the actual Slayers group..About time isn't it? Hey—this_ is _a GaavVal fic isn't it?_  
**Chapter Ten: Word Gets Around Fast**

The early morning sun rose slowly into the sky, giving the clouds and the land below it a graceful, relaxing glow of light reddish-pink as it melted the night away. All the sounds which accompanied nightfall, too, were slowly being banished as the morning's rays flooded the world to awaken it from its peaceful slumber, crickets were beginning to give way to the chirping of birds, fruit bats gave way to roosters as they flew back to their caves to sleep through the morning, and all around there was a smell of-

"Ahh, finally! That rack of dragon ribs I ordered is finally here!" cried Lina Gabriev in relief, grinning as a malicious glint entered her eyes when she looked down at the plate set before her by the waiter.

"He- hey! Don't eat it all, Lina! Save some for me!" Gourry Gabriev shouted in dismay as the redheaded woman began to devour the ribs.

Lina's bright eyes narrowed, her grin turning malicious to match the glint in her eyes as she stared at another rib. Picking it up with her now-bare hands, she ignored the funny, inquisitive looks given to her by those seated at tables surrounding she and her lover's as she growled at the food, "Prepare yourself..You're goin' down. Down my throat and into my stomach, that is, you beautiful, delicious, tantilizing food!"

Gourry lept forward a bit, leaning over the table and snatching a couple of ribs for himself before they were all downed in one foul swoop by the woman across from him.

As she finished chewing a particularly stringy bite of dragon rib, Lina chuckled. "This morning couldn't get any better! It's a beautiful day so far, they agreed to serve lunch a little bit early, we finally paid off our tab- for this restaurant, anyway...And, best of all, the food here is famous!"

Gourry nodded cheerfully, grinning as he swallowed the last bite of his third rib and raised his arm to signal the waiter to bring another rack their way.

Behind the two traveling companions, facing the doorway, Zelgadiss Greywords and Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun sat with wide eyes, frozen in the middle of whatever they had been doing at the voice ringing behind them.

Zelgadiss shook his head vigorously, closing his eyes as he set his sword down upon the seat beside him and Amelia shivered.

"I could have sworn I just heard Miss Lina and Mister Gourry's voices..But that can't be! What business would they have here?" whimpered Amelia, scooting closer to Zel.

A tiny voice cleared its throat, looking nervously back at the table behind Amelia and Zel from the corner of his eyes with distaste. "What, er...What can I do for the two of you today?" he asked nervously.

Amelia blinked and looked up to the waiter, smiling politely. "Hi! Can we get a- Mister Zelgadiss, what do you want?"

"Surprise me." replied the chimera briefly.

"Alright, let's see..." Glancing back down the list of items on the menu, Amelia's smile turned into a slight frown. "There's so much to choose from..."

The waiter sighed, asking, "Would you like a little more time to decide?"

"Oh, no! That's fine—okay, I know now. He'll have the Pasta Surprise...No wait, make that the Dragon Flambé Supreme with- Mister Zelgadiss, are you sure you won't just choose something?"

Zel chuckled slightly, letting his answer remain unsaid.

Understanding the silence to be a yes, Amelia sighed. "Okay, if you're sure...Alright! He'll have the Fillet of Chime—– uhhhm...That's not a good idea- okay then, put him down for the–"

"We'll both have the squid with dragon sauce and the dragon ribs on the side please." Zelgadiss sighed and said, folding his menu and taking Amelia's gently, doing the same with it as he looked at the waiter.

With a thankful smile to Zel, the man took the menus and walked off, rolling his eyes as his back turned to them to walk off.

"I'm sorry Mister Zelgadiss...I couldn't decide what you would probably-"

"Was Chimera Fillet really on that menu?" inquired the man thoughtfully.

With a brief nod, Amelia smiled sadly and nodded. "Sorry; I didn't think about it before I suggested it..."

"Don't worry about it."

Behind the two, Lina's eyes widened with each passing sentence, grinning in the middle of biting down into the tenth plate of ribs brought to she and Gourry's table.

"Hey, those voices sound familiar." Gourry murmured to Lina, blinking. "Where have I heard them before?"

"If I'm not wrong (and when was I ever?) those two are-"

"I've heard them before! But who is it? Hmm...Hm...I wonder...Hmmmm-"

SMACK.

"Ow! What was that for Lina!"

"We _do_ know those voices, jellyfish-for-brains!" Lina grumbled, standing to her feet and walking over to the table behind theirs.

Immediately upon seeing Lina, Amelia pulled out gag glasses with a big nose and mustache attached to them, two pairs, and put one on her face and one on Zel's. "Hello, Miss Li-" she began, freezing befor deepening her voice. "I mean- hello, miss person I've never seen before in my entire life."

Zel blinked through the glasses, shaking his head. _Does Amelia really think Lina and Gourry won't recognize us? With my body still that of a gollem, they'll know we're who we are if only because of how I– I'm giving Gourry too much credit. He'd probably fall for it...But Lina—_

"Hey, Lina? Why are you bothering those nice people? Come on back over here and eat!" grinned Gourry from beside Lina, looking to Amelia and Zel.

_Well, I was right...Gourry fell for it._ sighed Zel to himself. _But Lina still—_

"Hey, Gourry?" Lina began.

"Yeah?"

"Do you really have to be that stupid all the time or are you doing it because you think it keeps the romance alive?"

"What are you talking about? We shouldn't bother those nice people with things like that, they're probably—"

"_That's Amelia and Zel, you idiot!_"

"It _is_!"

Amelia removed the glasses with a sigh, taking Zel's and putting them back up. Smacking her forehead against Zel's shoulder, she thought, _Every single time we run into her if we aren't trying to we always get into—_

"Help! Help! Oh, vengance!" shouted an old woman's voice from the doorway.

Lina, Gourry, Zelgadiss, and Amelia paused then and there in their actions, turning their attention towards the door where an old woman with tear-filled eyes was panting to catch her breath.

"Not any of my business." Lina sighed, shaking her head and turning back to her friends.

"But Miss Lina, she said she needs help! It's the right thing to do!" Amelia pleaded, clenching one hand into a fist.

_Here it comes.._ thought Zel, leaning to the side towards the wall and banging his head against it a few times.

And Amelia did continue, saying, "It's not right to leave someone in need of assistance alone without it! Where is the love in your heart? Where is the justice?"

"Look, Amelia: that old woman may have yelled for help, but she wants retribution too. Remember? She didn't just scream about help. Besides, there's no payment and I don't work for free. So this time, we don't have to help. You're absolutely—"

Sobbing, the old woman cried, "_I'll give a reward for anyone who can help me! Please!_"

Lina's eyes widened a fraction at this and she grinned. "–Absolutely _right_, Amelia! What kind of person would leave an old woman in need when she asks for help! What kind of person does that? Not Lina Gabriev, sorcery genius! I've gotta find out what's wrong and fix it!"

With nothing more, she zipped off to the woman's side, her husband, Zel, and Amelia behind her.

"What's wrong ma'am?" asked the redhead gently, looking down into her teary eyes. "Who are you, and what can we possibly do to help? And how much is that reward?"

Amelia shot a glare at Lina, but the woman replied, "I'll pay you whatever you want!"

A wide grin spread across Lina's lips. _Whatever I want! Think of how much I could charge for this even if it's the smallest thing! Oooh—think of all the food I could buy with it! Dragon Ribs, Dragon Flambé with Squid Fries and Shrimp Sauce on the sides, oh this will be wonderful!_

"I'm Edna Klaine; my grandson was Chliff Klaine and—"

"The Brass Racket champion from a year or two ago? He was the youngest person to make the championship..." Zel mused.

At this, Edna burst into tears once more, sobbing into an annoyed-looking Lina's shoulder.

"What's the matter?" asked Amelia, frowning in concern as she, too, kneeled down beside the woman.

"He was killed last night; you have to find the one who did it! You just have to! It must have been that man!"

"What man?"

Edna sniffed, wailing, "That's the problem, miss, I- I don't remember the name of him!"

_Great._ growled Lina, thinking to hserself. _Typical old woman; how am I supposed to find someone I know nothing about?_

Zelgadiss kneeled beside Lina and Amelia, turning the woman around carefully to face him. "Do you remember the way the man looked? I can't guarantee he may've done it but it would give us something to go—"

Shrieking, Edna smacked Zel over the head with her cane, reaching over to the table nearest them and grabbing a napkin...With which she began smacking him, shouting, "Paper Beats Rock Attack!"

Lina rolled her eyes, looking at Amelia. "She's as crazy as your dad."

Amelia frowned at her, carefully and gently prying the napkin from Edna's hand as Zel sat there glaring at his luck. "He's okay, Miss Edna—he's a good person! He won't hurt you!"

This seemed to slightly comfort the woman, who shifted her weight a bit.

"Well, what did he look like?" prodded Lina.

"Tall!"

Lina's eyebrows twitched at this response. "How tall, ma'am?"

"How tall?"

"Well, yeah. How tall was he?"

"Why, he was so tall..." If you couldn't guess what came next, you're a complete fool. This is Slayers, people; they're not _all_ serious and depressing and angsty! "...That when I first laid eyes on him, I asked how the atmosphere up there was!"

Again, Lina twitched; Gourry, however, was laughing like a madman.

"Come on you old woman be serious! How tall was the guy!" growled the redhead, glaring darkly into Edna's eyes.

"He must have had at _least_ eight feet on him!"

Gourry blinked, lifting a hand to his chin in thought. "So he's a spider? I thought he was a man!"

"Gourry shut up he is a man! She meant he had to be at least eight feet _tall_! Geeze, Gourry; think before you speak, huh?"

"He had piercing blue eyes...And he had such a strong build; he was looking for someone."

Zelgadiss' eyes widened a fraction at these words, looking to Lina. "He sounds familiar already."

"Can't be." Lina refuted, shaking her head in certainty. I bet the guy didn't even have—"

"Oh, yes; and he had the longest red hair I've seen in my life! Longer than yours, missy!"

"But- it can't be. Are you sure you can see colours properly, grandma? Or maybe your judgement in height's off?"

"I know what I saw, missy!"

"What was the guy wearing?" asked Gourry, leaning down over the elder woman with his head cocked to one side.

"Hey, that was actually helpful for a change, Gourry!" chimed Lina.

Edna studied Gourry for a moment, finally calming down from her teary sadness over her grandson enough to speak without stammering. A few more moments passed, then she replied, "I couldn't tell, sonny; he kept whatever he was wearing hidden by that huge, unsightly orange—"

"Trench coat." sighed Zel, lifting his gaze up evenly with Lina's. "It has to be Gaav."

"That was it! That was the man's name! It was- oh, you have to help me! That's the man my innocent little grandson told me about who threatened him away from that nice boy he liked! It has to have been Gaav that killed him; please do something!"

Amelia's eyes widened at this as she let out a gasp of surprise.

"Who's Gaav?" Gourry muttered, leaning down to Zel's ear before asking this. "Is it that thing judges use?"

"That's a gavel, Gourry...Gaav is the Demon Dragon King, the one who we fought with up in theKatatoe Mountains. "

"The only enemy Miss Lina couldn't defeat..." whimpered Amelia in addition, sinking lower onto the ground beside Zelgadiss and Lina.

"You've gotta have the guy mixed up with him or something; he was defeated by Hellmaster Phibrizzo!"

"No, missy, I know the name! He said it was Gaav, the Demon Dragon King; he looked like him, sounded like him, it has to be who he was! Please, do something about Gaav!"

"But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead! He's been dead for years now—Phibrizzo made sure he couldn't come back again!"

"It has to be him, Lina." sighed Zel in defeat, staring hard at Edna in thought and dread understanding of what this meant. "She described him perfectly...And it _is_ like him to kill someone over nothing at all...But how would he be back after Phibrizzo killed him? Why would it take him so long to resurface if he could have done it at any time?"

Before anyone could think of a response to the chimera's questions, Amelia gasped audibly a second time, launching herself forward a bit and bringing her nose centimeters from Edna's. Her brow furrowed in concern and eyes shining with undeniable fright, she grabbed the shawl around Edna's shoulders gently and pulled her forward a little. "You said your grandson was threatened by Gaav, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes; I did..."

"Over a boy?"

"Yes. He said Gaav seemed interested in—"

"The boy, Miss Edna; what was his name? What did he look like?"

Simultaneously, realization struck both Lina and Zel as to what Amelia was trying to find out. The same sinking feeling the princess had in her stomach reached theirs as they listened closely for the woman's answer.

"A nice young fellow a few towns away from here; his mother owns one of the shops there."

"But what's he look like? What's his name?" Lina pried.

"His name- I don't remember it, now, either; I'm sorry!"

"What does he look like, then?"

"He has a very handsome face; flawless features...Amber eyes, greenish hair down to, oh, here...A bit on the tall and skinny si—"

"Val!" shouted Lina, Amelia, and Zelgadiss in unison.

Not seeing where this was going, Gourry muttered to himself, "What about him?"

"Gaav's trying to build his forces back up...And he wants Val back again to do that." Lina growled through clenched teeth, eyes narrowed. "He wants to change him back into Valgaav again...That lousy—"

"But Filia's taking care of him; that guy—"

"_Gaav_!"

"—can't get to him, can he?"

"We hope not, but we can't be sure about anything anymore. If he's back after we thought he couldn't return, there's no telling what he's capable of doing or how powerful he is. I couldn't beat him the first time we fought him; if he's anymore powerful now that he's back, and if he does manage to get his hands on Val and make him into Valgaav, there's no way we could beat him now...Not when Valgaav had that much power alone; combine his strength with Gaav's at the same time, and think about them attacking us together along with whatever other goons the Demon Dragon King could throw at us, and we're history..."

"Please, say you'll do something!" pleaded Edna again, tears welling up in her eyes and beginning to fall once again.

"We've got to. He's probably gonna come looking for us eventually, anyway...He did the first time; now he's back and probably hopping mad we led Phibrizzo right to him."

"You'll do it...?"

"You've got yourself some temporary bounty hunters."

"Where!" shouted Gourry, looking around and drawing his sword from its sheath as Zel collected his sword from the booth he and Amelia had been sitting at.

"Put it up, Gourry! Zangulus is married and Martina would kill him if he came out all this way looking for you just to have a little sword fight!"

"Oh, yeah; I forgot about that..."

"Come on, guys. It looks like we've got traveling to do."  
**To Be Continued..**  
_Still think it's not out of character yet? The name of the mountain range has been changed to the Katatoe Mountain because that sounds more like what they say in the anime than what I was finding on search engines anyway. Thanks to **possessed-anarchist** for the name correction and reviews thus far._


	11. Breakfast and a Hangover

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Try to guess who the blonde I mentioned in this chapter is. I'll give you one hint: it looks like not all of them were killed...Just the ones serving the temple. As for chapter ten, I kept to the serious tone (for the most part), and managed to get in some of the classical cheesy Slayers comic relief without destroying the plot in the process! (So proud!) Just work with me. I _think _I know what I'm doing. (I'm not sure.)_  
**Chapter Eleven: Breakfast and a Hangover**

Elsewhere, the sun shone brightly into the window of the room in which Gaav and Val had spent the night together after the night's mishap.

Yawning, Val cringed in regret of the action as he nuzzled into the taller man's embrace a bit more. Whatever the reason, he had a huge headache.

"You'll be feeling badly for a little while." came Gaav's voice gently from above Val.

_No, you don't say?_ thought Val to himself, groaning as he wrapped his arm around Gaav's waist to snuggle closer. _Just kill me now, please..._

A soft chuckle emitted from Gaav which echoed around in the younger boy's head like thunder, making him wince and nuzzle further into his grip.

"You really shouldn't have drunk so much last night, sweet Val."

Val looked up from Gaav's chest, glaring half-heartedly as he mumbled, "You're the one who told me to try it."

"I never told you to try it so many times."

A few minutes of silence went by and Gaav rolled his eyes quietly as the sound of Val's breathing began to get steadier and slower. Damnit, what a time for him to fall asleep; he was hungry!

Gently nudging the young dragon's shoulder, Gaav whispered softly in his ear, "Come on, don't fall asleep again. It's close to noon and they'll stop serving breakfast soon."

Val sighed and pushed himself up slowly, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. "Lead the way then, master."

Pausing as he pushed himself up as well, Gaav turned his head to look at the Ancient Dragon who sat with his head tilted at him in curiosity. _He must've been joking that time._ Gaav thought, shaking his head and standing to his feet.

A few minutes later, the people visiting the inn saw the two descend the stairs hand in hand and make their way towards a table away from the others.

It wasn't long after arriving that the two were served their food: everything on the menu except things made of dragon.

As Val began eating, Gaav stared intently at the younger boy. It was hard to believe how different Val was from Valgaav though they were the same person. Yes, both had a knack for annoying him (although he wouldn't tell Val that), both seemed overly fond of alcohol, and both had the same basic looks, but that was as far as their similarities went to one another.

Val was modest, adorably cute, fairly timid, and neatly kept. He lacked any sorts of blemishes on his skin, his eyes were soft but subconsciously guarded, and he seemed to have a thing for grinning. There was an innocence about him that couldn't be ignored and which would almost certainly have sent the Demon Dragon King crawling on his hands and knees away for sanctuary to recover had he been a full Mazoku, unable to handle the sweetness radiating from Val.

Meanwhile, Valgaav had been more rough around the edges but still managed to maintain the sense of elegance through all his violence and rebeliousness. To hell with modesty and timidness; the half-Ancient Dragon, half-Mazoku had known he was attractive and didn't seem to much mind flaunting it to get what he wanted from the Mazoku lord and his followers. Wild-haired and cold, Valgaav's body had been covered in scars from the days when his people had been slaughtered by the Golden Dragons. It was a miracle if he smiled at someone; all it seemed he knew how to do was glare, smirk, and sneer. As for innocence, yes; Gaav supposed he _was_ innocent...As innocent as Ruby Eye Shabranigdo, that was.

Noticing the stare he was getting from his boyfriend, Val arched an eyebrow as he swallowed the bite of ramune-soaked pasta. "What is it Gaav?"

At once, Gaav was pulled out of his thoughts. "Nothing, Valg- Val."

"Valg? What's a Valg?"

Gaav mentally slapped himself. _Can he be anymore naïve?_ he thought silently, staring down the younger of the two again. Aloud, however, he replied, "I'll tell you when you think you know."

A sigh was all that came from Val before the teen continued to eat, staring thoughtfully into the taller's eyes.

"Is your mother married?" inquired Gaav, not really interested in the ex-priestess' love life so much as his own at the moment. He knew damn well Filia wasn't married and that she was happy with the fact, but he wanted an excuse to hear Val's voice again.

Val shook his head, saying, "No; she hasn't had a date in I don't know how long. A handsome blonde came around once when I was little asking if she would consider a date with him. I thought she should have said yes, but she told him she had her hands full with raising me properly whatever that meant."

Glaring at the thought of who it might have been, Gaav asked in forced pleasantness, "Was his name Milgasia by any chance?"

"How did you-"

"I've...Met him before, so to say."

Well, it was true. He'd met him up in the mountains where he'd met his defeat at the hands, or fingers to be more precise, of Phibrizzo.

"Why do you ask?" Val wondered aloud.

"Just trying to make conversation."

_Like I'd tell him the real reason I asked. If anyone overheard, and if he remembers who he is at some point, he'd never let me live it down. How many Mazoku lords do you see going around asking their former servants, "Oh, by the way dear, the whole reason I brought up that wench who calls herself your mother being married or not is because as soon as you let me nail your brains out I want you to marry me"?_

Val raised his brow, but said nothing in response to the spoken answer he received. Instead, he continued eating for a few moments before he put down the bit of ramune pasta he'd been about to eat. As though an after-thought occurred to him, Val blinked silently before opening his mouth to speak and he murmured across the table, "Would you consider us as- well...Would you call this relaionship serious?" A hint of doubt coloured his words and Gaav wasn't sure he liked where the young dragon was going with that comment. "After all, no one knows about it but us so far and it's the first one I've ever been in...Could that be considered serious?"

"Were you serious when you were going to let me take you last night?" mused the redheaded man before taking another bite of what he had ordered.

"So you would?"

"So that's a yes?"

"Come on, don't do that."

"That's what I was thinking. So, were you?"

A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed, then at last Val leaned forward over the table and let his lips meet Gaav's as his eyes slid closed and one of the other man's hands wound its fingers with those of one of his own.

At length, the kiss broke and Val leaned back into his side of the booth, smiling faintly. "Yes." he confirmed, giving Gaav's hand a gentle squeeze. "It felt a little quick-paced and early, but...Yes."

"So, then, I'd call what we have serious. Ignore that it's only been a few days; time doesn't matter. The point is, yes. We're serious."

"How serious...Are...?"

"How much do you want it to be?"

"It gets lonely without anyone to be with when you get older..." muttered Val, glancing down at his plate. "I never understood how mother does it."

"She's got you doesn't she? How can somebody be lonely when they've got someone like you living with them every day?"

"That wasn't really what I was going for as an answer..."

"Then re-word your question."

"How long do you want this to last?"

Gaav paused in thought, staring at the nervous teen. So he was pretty much asking what Gaav had been wondering himself not even five minutes ago, was he?

"Let me shorten the conversation process. At some point in the future, do you want to get married?" asked Gaav bluntly.

Val turned a dark shade of red, bowing his head in hopes of becoming invisible, but nodded.

"Would you consider marrying me in the future? If I asked, I mean."

Again, Val nodded as he whispered, "Yes."

"So it's settled."

Val looked up at these words, furrowing an eyebrow as he arched the other, tilting his head. "What do you mean?"

"You're going to be my wife one day, so to speak. If you'll do it, of course."

A large grin spread its way over Val's lips. "Of course!"

Half an hour passed by as the two continued to eat and they finally finished up as it neared a little bit past noon.

"Mother's probably worried about where I've been all night; I should go on back home." sighed Val as he and Gaav stood from the booth simultaneously, a small frown forming over his lips.

"I understand. You don't want her to worry too much, so go on. I'll be around when you want to meet up again." Gaav said in response, pulling Val to his chest in a gentle hug.

With a kiss and a farewell, Val set off towards his home. His headache had finally gone away and he had been pretty much guaranteed to have Gaav there for years to come in the future if what the other man had told him was the truth.

Today couldn't possibly get any better.  
**To Be Continued..**


	12. Jillas? A Confidante?

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Wheeeeee. I finished chapter eleven up while purchasing a new TM Revolution CD. I'm so proud I can multi-task! Anyway, I always liked to think Valgaav rescued Jillas a few months before Gaav died so that explains how the guy knows who Gaav is. Same thing for Gravos. That's all I'll say for now; read on!_   
**Chapter Twelve: Jillas? A Confidante?**

"You could have been killed! Or worse!" shouted Filia, shaking her finger at Val as the young dragon sat in the chair seeming not to hear her and wearing a fuzzy smile on his face.

This had been going on since he'd gotten home that afternoon after his breakfast with Gaav. He had tried to stick up for himself and reason with her, but she interrupted him every single time he'd done so. So, with nothing else to do but listen, Val had decided to let her lecture while he took the liberty of reflecting back upon the morning's conversation with his boyfriend. Filia had been ranting for about two hours on the many different things that could have happened to him while he was away as well as how worried she'd been all night over where he was, and so far she was still going strong.

Jillas, who had run into the room as soon as he'd heard Val made it back home via Filia's ecstatic cries of relief in which she praised the Fire Dragon King, was now sitting on the couch with one palm holding his head up. He, too, was getting bored out of his mind from listening to the Golden Dragon ranting and pitching a fit for the past two hours or so, but he didn't dare interrupt at risk of facing her wrath.

Gravos would usually have been in the room too, if for no other reason than just to listen to what was being said in hopes of trying to get Val out of whatever trouble he was in. After all, whether Val was Valgaav or as he was now, he had saved his life in the past and he was still eternally in his debt for as long as Val lived no matter the name or form he took. Due to having already been kicked out by Filia for trying to calm the woman down, he had resigned himself to just listening at the door and trying to will Jillas to speak up in his stead.

Of course, it didn't happen.

After another ten minutes, Filia sighed and dropped into a chair, exhausted. With a covered yawn, she asked, "What did you think would make it okay for you to stay out and worry the three of us like that? Where did you stay? Did you even get to eat anything while you were out? You didn't run into that terrible murderer did you?"

Val blinked, snapping out of his daydream which involved himself and Gaav in wedding outfits, and raised both eyebrows. "Murderer?"

"I'm just worried about you, sweety; I don't want you to get hurt. It's the last thing in the world I want; I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you...I was so afraid the person who killed the boy the officials found in the ally today might have hurt you as well..."

As tears welled up in Filia's eyes, Jillas became alert and his head shot off the palm of his hand. Looking to Val, he nodded towards Filia as a quiet signal he should head off the problem before it arose and stop the ex-priestess from crying.

Val nodded in understanding to Jillas, saying, "Mother, it's alright; I was safe all night. I stayed with a friend of mine who's been living nearby for a while. Nothing happened to me...We were both inside talking and ma- er, exploring, and by the time I looked outside it was too dark to try coming back home. I knew you wouldn't want me to be out past dark by myself, and he didn't want me to be either, so I stayed with him last night. And yes, I did eat. I didn't mean to cause anyone to worry about me."

Filia gave a relieved sigh, exclaiming, "Thank goodness! As long as you're alright, and as long as that's why you didn't come home last night...I guess I can let you off with a warning this time, Val. But please be more careful with the time in the future, okay? You don't know how much it scared me when you didn't come home."

Nodding, Val smiled and stood, walking over to Filia. He gave her a hug and said, "I'm going to go start on cleaning up my room a bit."

"Val, I gotta talk to you a minute." stated Jillas suddenly, standing to his feet and making his way over to the Ancient Dragon.

Blinking, Val smiled. "Alright, come on."

The two began to ascend the stairs and once they were at the top, Jillas paused, clearing his throat. "Look, I know-" he began.

Instantly, the amber-eyed boy froze. "What do you mean?"

"I know you're seein' someone. And you were prob'ly staying wi'them all night...All's I want to know is who it is. You're my responsibility, too, right?"

"Please don't tell mother." sighed Val, turning to face Jillas after a few moments. "She'd kill me if she knew I was out with him."

"She might kill both of us for it bein' a him, eh? I won't say a thing. But who is the guy, boss?"

"He doesn't want me to say yet...He said if someone who knows him finds out he's in town, he won't have any time to spend with me...I can tell you a little about him, though!"

Jillas grinned, nodding his head vigorously. "Tell me everything!"

"He's gentle, sweet, and worries about me almost as much as mother does. He's tall, has red hair, blue eyes—he probably wouldn't win a place in the book of records for being the most attractive person, but to me he's–"

All the while, as Val had continued to describe the man he had been seeing, Jillas had been feeling the colour drain out of him. Could it be who he was thinking? It couldn't—he was dead! But no one else had ever matched the description of Gaav this perfectly before...And no one had ever managed to work Val up like this except for when he was Valgaav, and that one person was Gaav. Valgaav had always been full of fierce energy and a will to fight, but that seemed to calm down a little whenever Gaav was nearby unless the taller of the two asked him to do something. Then, and only then, would he call back up that fire around him and put it to action to carry out whatever task he'd been given.

Meanwhile, Val had continued to go on explaining even the most miniscule of details about the man he had fallen in love with. Jillas tuned back into his words as he said, "...And he's very strong; he could pick me up and carry me without any problem at all. His hands were a little rough, but they were so careful when he touched my skin. Oh!– and he had such a strong build...He's considerate, too! We...Well,..."

Jillas nodded his head slowly, still trying to shake the possibility from his mind, and motioned with one hand for Val to go ahead and say whatever he was thinking. After all, with Jillas being one of his guardians, it wasn't as though he was going to point and laugh at him.

"We...Started to go further than I was ready to." sighed the amber-eyed youth, smiling a little at the memory. Gods, that had felt so good...

Seeing Jillas open his mouth to protest, Val blinked himself back to reality and held up both hands to stop the misunderstanding. He would have none of the thought going through his friend's mind that his boyfriend had tried to rape him! "No, no; we didn't do anything...We started. But we didn't...He said we could wait until I was ready for that sort of thing."

_Well, that doesn't sound like him._ thought Jillas quietly, holding back a grin from the relief of the knowledge that it might not be who he'd thought after all. _He would'a just went ahead and did it anyway!_

"He's so wonderful, Jillas; he's protective of me, he treats me to all sorts of things, he's going to wait for me to give the okay before he does anything to me in that extent, and he's so gentle...If you go by just the looks of him, you wouldn't think he could be capable of anything besides roughness. It's just the cover of the book though; you know how it is. He's so sweet and kind but you'd never guess it from his appearance."

"Where is he?" choked the fox, staring Val in the eyes with a very serious expression on his face.

Instantly, Val felt a twinge of fear creeping over him. Did Jillas know who he meant? He had to; he'd asked where Gaav was staying! He couldn't very well lie to him; if he found out it was a lie he could tell Filia and get him into trouble. Worse still, he might get Gaav into trouble as well despite that he seemed to know his mother.

Knowing what was circling through Val's head, Jillas added after a moment, "Don't worry boss. I won't tell Filia anything about 'im. Cross me heart."

Still skeptical about his guardian's promise, Val sighed. As he looked up into Jillas' face, he was given reassurance to the promise by the secretly forced smile he wore. "He's at the inn closest to here." he stated softly, hugging himself gently.

"You do love th'guy, don't you boss?"

Val nodded, smiling dreamily as he closed his eyes, the memory of Gaav's lips covering his and the taller man's arms around his waist coming back to him. "He's wonderful...And he loves me as much as I love him; I feel like everything's perfect whenever I see him. It feels like there's been something missing...Some kind of void that's been there for a long time that he's filled."

The sense of dread was now back and bigger than ever before as Jillas heard these words. That void only the one Val loved could fill...It had to be the place Gaav had secretly held in Valgaav's heart back then. It became empty when the Dark Lord died, and drove Valgaav to an even deeper stage of sorrow and anger towards the world...And now that it was being filled again, it could only be one person doing it. There was only ever one person who could make Valgaav give off even the most remote of symptoms of having a purring kitten inside the fierce tiger of a mask he wore. It made sense Gaav would be the only one to do that much for Val as well.

"I want to have a word wi'him, but don't you worry boss. I won't tell Filia anything."

Jillas was happy to know Val had found himself someone to love, but all the same—did it have to be who he thought it was? If it really was Gaav Val was seeing, he knew for a fact Filia would want to know. Even if he'd promised not to say anything to her; it was in the best interest of Val.

After all, Gaav seemed intent on making Val love him. Well, technically he'd already done that. The point was, Gaav was probably after Val to remind him of who he had been in his previous life.

There was no way Filia would want to sit idly by and let Gaav turn the ex-villain back into Valgaav. No matter _how_ righteous Valgaav's intentions had ended up being or how justified his rage was back then.

Val seemed to be happy as the young Ancient Dragon he had been born to be. Would the boy, despite having Valgaav's memories locked deep inside him, truly want to remember all of that suffering and sadness?

Was love truly worth having all of those painful, enraging memories brought up from his past in the eyes of the sea-green-haired boy? Did Val even know the man he was seeing was known as one of Ruby Eye Shabranigdo's five Mazoku Dark Lords known as the Demon Dragon King? If so, was it the Valgaav in him making him unafraid of the Monster?

Filia truly hated monsters; she hated them all almost as much as she did one Mazoku in particular: Xelloss, the trickster priest.

_What would she say if I told 'er the guy Val's been seein's Gaav, the Demon Dragon King?_ thought Jillas to himself, watching silently as Val cleaned his room.

No, it wasn't possible she would be too happy at all.

With a sigh, Jillas turned and went down the stairs. Whether he was terrified of the Chaos Dragon or not, he had to go and confront him for Val's sake. He just couldn't let the young dragon be hurt again like he was when he'd first met him.

_At the nearby inn..._ Jillas frowned adn thought. _I've gotta talk to 'im an' try to get him to change his mind about what 'e wants from the boss..._

Taking a deep breath, the red fox made his way into the tavern Val had mentioned. After only a span of a few seconds, Jillas spotted the ominous red-haired man at a table waiting for his order to come. His fear had been confirmed: it truly was Gaav that Val had fallen in love with.

With far more courage than he truly had, Jillas cleared his throat to get his attention without having to speak more than he had before he needed to.

Gaav arched a bushy eyebrow at the fox, smirking when he realized he knew who this person was. Damned if it wasn't the one Val had rescued back when he was Valgaav!

"What did Valgaav call you way back then?" Gaav wondered aloud suddenly, staring lazily down at Jillas in thought for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest quietly.

"Jillas, Lo- Gaav."

At this, Gaav raised his brow even higher. "Why so informal?"

Jillas gulped before proceeding into the explanation. He made sure to cover everything that had happened from the point when Gaav had died and how upset Valgaav had been up to now, when- as he put it -Val didn't know what he was about to get himself into.

Through the explanation, Gaav sat listening to the information given. Val was definitely a virgin as he had suspected from what he could tell, and this truly was his first relationship with someone.

"You gotta leave the boss alone. He likes who he is now widout your influence to make 'im back into Lord Valgaav!" Jillas begged, shaking a bit from how nervous he was from talking to a Mazoku Lord in that tone of voice. He'd spoken to, even cried in front of, Valgaav on more than one occasion in the pastwhen he'd had Mazoku blood in him, but that was different. Valgaav had been the one to save him, not Gaav. The only reason he answered to Gaav ultimately was that Valgaav saved him and he returned the favour by serving him, and Valgaav was Gaav's servant.

Gaav paused for a moment to think. The thought had entered his mind as well on how free the Ancient Dragon seemed to be able to act without such dark, heavy memories to hurt him like they had done before.

As it was in the past Gaav could recall quite vividly how many times Valgaav had shouted in anguish or fear from a bad dream formed from a memory of what happened to his people.

It was at those times, on those nights, when Gaav had been able to see how truly vulnerable and upest Valgaav had been despite how he let everyone else see him as. There was always a sad and angry aura to him.

Whenever those dreams would ovccur, Gaav's servants always came to him and told him something was going on. And, without fail, Gaav would go to see what was wrong with Valgaav as quickly as possible.

Back then, Gaav had still been in the mind set that he did this because Valgaav was his most powerful and most needing servant as opposed to the lover he later realized he had wanted the two of them to be together. Gaav may have been a Mazoku Dark Lord, but he was also partially human due to circumstances out of his control. Ergo, he had a set of morals and a bit of righteousness to him no one usually saw.

No one but Valgaav.

At length, Gaav chuckled to himself. Looking back down at Jillas, he gave an order that was more of a suggestion. "See it from my perspective."

Jillas blinked. _His perspective?_

"See it this way. I helped Val in the past by making him become Valgaav. Understand?"

Jillas shook his head at this. Indeed, he didn't. He may have served under the two men, but that didn't mean he knew the story behind the reason they seemed to be a lot closer than the others serving them were.

Actually, he had never even thought to wonder about why the others who served them were so angry that Valgaav held a higher rank amongst them than they, themselves, did.

"What d'you mean helped?" asked Jillas finally.

Gaav once more chuckled at this. "His people were slaughtered by the Golden Dragons. He, the only survivor, is the last of the Ancient Dragons." he replied simply. "He was dying by the time I even saw him...But still, he was as fiesty as a full-blooded Ancient Dragon as he was when he became part Mazoku. He was so much like me when I saw him in the sense that we were both on the run from someone and that he was so angry. I offered him a chance at revenge against the Golden Dragons if he'd be reborn as my servant and take on my name. He accepted, I killed him, and he became Valgaav. My Valgaav, the top ranking servant that followed under me. A new half dragon took the priority to me over my own kind and even the most loyal of my followers. You can imagine how that went over."

Jillas took a moment to let this information sink in before he asked, "What does that have to do wid anythng about your perspective'a things?"

"He was hurt by the way the damn Golden Dragons treated is people. He was set on getting revenge on them for it; there was no one he had hated more. In his own words of thanks when his transformation was done, I was the only one who had given him any form of kindness in his life. He was nothing short of greatful to be my follower in return. He despised completley the race which destroyed his life. What would Val say if he knew his past and were able to realize the hypocracy in that woman caring for him after what her own kind did to him? After she brought Lina Inverse and her friends into the picture to kill him for trying to retaliate against an unfair life by getting revenge, and then for retaliating against an unjust, unfair world by giving his word to destroy and recreate it without the source of its pain problems?"

The Chaos Dragon had a point no matter how much Jillas hated to admit it, he decided with a sigh. It made perfect sense; no, Val _wouldn't_ appreciate the life he was living if he knew the full truth which was always being carefully guarded from him by the blonde woman.

In fact, the more he thought about it, the more Jillas didn't like Filia for how she'd been treating Val. How could she say she truly cared about Val when she was keeping so much from him that he deserved to know? Especially things involving the man he was now obviously in love with?

With no more patience remaining, Gaav narrowed his eyes at Jillas. It was easy to see he was still a little ways away from believing that he, the one who was there to win Val over and try to remind him that he was Valgaav, was in the right this time. He knew that if he just went ahead and killed the fox and Val found out he was the one that did it, he'd never hear the teen speak to him again. He sure as Hells wasn't about to risk that possibility.

With that in mind, Gaav smirked inwardly at the new idea formulating as he let Jillas continue thinking. If he couldn't get to Val at night to give him hints about his being Valgaav, then...

"You claim to care about him, do you not?" asked the Demon Dragon King, an eyebrow arching as he spoke.

The look of outrage crossing Jillas' face gave the answer as he replied in an irritated voice, "Of course I do! I owe 'im me life! He saved me!"

"Then why do you want me to let him keep living this hypocritical lie? Why not help me to remind him of who he really is? Anyone who really cared about him would do it...He would want you to if he knew why how he's living is so bad. And you do care about what happens and his well-being, don't you?"

Jillas was at a complete loss for words. Yes, he did think Filia might have had good intentions at heart for being so secretive around Val, but Gaav did have a highly valid point: Valgaav would have wanted to know what was happening to amend it if he were able to see the events unfolding now.

With a sigh, Jillas looked up into Gaav's eyes with a resigning frown. "I'll do it." he stated bluntly, the frown widening. "I'll help get the boss to remember who 'e is inside."  
**To Be Continued..**


	13. Turncoat

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Oh, I'm so proud; chapter twelve was finished while listening to the new TM Revolution CD I ordered. Heh...Anyway, at the request of my most loyal reviewer,...Here's chapter thirteen. In this chapter, we'll be seeing just how Jillas plans to help Gaav out where Val is concerned. Can he even go through with it? Read on to find out._  
**Chapter Thirteen: Turncoat**

Val gave a gentle smile as he let himself fall back on his bed. he had been working non-stop around the house since he had returned from his overnight stay with his boyfriend...Or should he say, fiance-to-be?

There was no questioning it: he was definitely in a good mood. But, who'd be in a bad mood when they'd been given the promise of marriage to the one they loved not even two hours ago?

The soft breeze coming into the room from outside via the wndow was the wind of change the way Val saw it; things could only keep getting better from where he was in life.

Especially if Gaav kept his word and they got married at some point in the future. There was, of course, the one question of where the two would go to carry out the ceremony. His mother most certainly would want to be there for it all, no matter who Val was marrying. She would also want to invite her friends along so she could brag about him. The problem about all of this was that they had to find a place that would allow the marriage. All of the local places forbad marriages between two people of the same gender. And of all Val's rotten luck, both he and Gaav were a male.

Still, despite the obstacle, Val couldn't bring himself to feel down about it in any way. The memory of the promise was to fresh to fret over anything.

The smile on Val's face grew wider as he sighed in content, bringing his arms up to wrap around his waist. Closing his eyes, he could vividly remember the brush of Gaav's lips against his as they lay cuddled up in one another's arms after waking up that morning. It was truly a wonderful feeling he didn't want to let go of. It felt even better having been able to let one of his friends in on the secret.

As though on cue from the teen's thoughts, Jillas' voice interrupted the silence of Val's thoughts. "Boss?" asked the fox, mentally frowning in anxiety. What was he about to do?

Val grinned, jumping up from his bed and hugging him at this. "Isn't he so handsome?" sighed the young dragon, giving a gentle chuckle as he stepped back and sat down on his bed.

With a nervous smile, Jillas nodded. That was a lie and he knew it, but the answer seemed to have pleased Val. So, with this, Jillas cleared his throat and said, "Yeah he was. Boss, he said you two are gonna get married in the future. That right?"

Grinning even wider than he had been before, Val nodded. "Of course! It's wonderful, hm?"

_Here goes nothin'..._ thought Jillas, taking a deep breath and sitting down on the bed beside Val. "Yeah, it is. You sure you wanna go through with it, though? I mean you don't have to if you don't want. He'd understand. Besides, boss, you gotta consider alot'a things in the process."

"I haven't been more positive about anything before in my life. It feels like I've known him my whole life...Like it's just destiny."

"You 'ave no idea..."

Val blinked. "What was that?"

"Nothin', I was just thinkin' about how much you an' him remind me of someone I used'a know, boss."

Now Val's full attention was on him and he was waiting to hear what Jillas meant by this.

"The guy you two remind me of was a lot more like you than you'd believe, boss." began Jillas. "He saved me from dyin' and promised me revenge against these people who killed alot'a my village."

"I never knew that; I'm sorry."

"The guy was as tall as you an' had scars all over 'is body; he offered to help me even though I was bein' defensive against him."

"So he was nice enough to help out when you needed it?"

"Yea' he was. He used'a work for Gaav."

Unaware of it, Val's eyes widened a little at these words as he leaned forward. "Does he still? I'd like to meet and thank him for helping you."

"He helped Gravos out in a bit'a the same way, too. Guess you could call him misunderstood, huh?"

"Does he still work for Gaav, Jillas?"

"Afraid not."

"Why not? Did he have to leave for some reason?"

"He got 'imself killed. Gravos an' I promised to serve him till the day he died, an' not too long after he saved me, he got killed."

Val's eyes remained locked onto Jillas' form as he sat there, unable to bring himself to say anything. He remained silent for a few minutes longer, leaving Jillas to frown slightly. Had he managed to remind Val of anything?"

At length, Val opened his mouth to ask, voice sounding distant, "What was his name?"

The moment of truth had come. Should he tell Val and risk the happy way he was living now, or should he say he'd forgotten and go against his new belief that Val would want to know he had once been Valgaav?

With his mind made up, Jillas gave a sigh and mentally kicked himself as he replied, "He called 'imself Valgaav."

That was it; that was all it took to launch Val into the memory of the times Valgaav had rescued Jillas and Gravos.

As Cal sat there lost in his subconscious memories, oblivious to the world around him presently, Jillas' frown widened. What had he just done? After the way Filia had helped him, he repaid her kindness by betraying her and trying to help Gaav? After they many times Valgaav had helped him in the past, he thanked him by attempting to pull the past back up and ruin Val's happy life by rminding him of how painful his past had been?

Standing up, Jillas decided what he had to do was to go back to Gaav and tell him he couldn't continue with the plan. Even if confronting Gaav with that information cost him his life, he couldn't keep going with it. All Val and Filia had ever done was help him; how could he possibly betray their trust like this?

Making his way down the stairs, Jillas glanced around to make sure the room was empty before racing out the door and then quietly shutting it.

Not even five minutes later, Jillas found himself just a few meters away from the Chaos dragon, trying to gather his courage so he could explain the situation.

Gods, he was nervous.

Gaav looked up from the book he'd been reading on the battle between Cephied and Shabranigdo once he heard hisname called out. One look down provided him with the answer to his unasked question as to who had said his name.

"If it isn't the red fox. How is the progress? Does he remember anything at all?"

Jillas gulped, taking a deep breath. A moment later, he said, "I can't do it anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"It don't seem fair to the boss...He's so happy now that he's free from all'a that pain and suffering he was putting up wid as Lord Valgaav. He doesn't deserve to have to be reminded'a all that."

Gaav was silent for a moment in thought. True, he had thought of that many times before now. But every time he did, his mind went back to the times when Valgaav was so content in appearance around him. The knowledge that he had been promised the chance at revenge against the Golden Dragons had made him seem happy and as though he had something left to live for.

As Val, he didn't need that one promise to live; he was happy already. But yet there was a cold, guarded twinge of darkness in his eyes even now. It was as if the Valgaav in him knew the promise hadn't been carried out yet and wouldn't rest until it had. If he remained in the dark about his past and his subconscious longing for the revenge he was promised went unfilfilled, Gaav knew Val could never be completely at ease nor could he ever have a truly happy, regret-free and painless life. Only when the things of Valgaav's past had been justified could he be free to live out a normal life without the old scars from back then.

These things Gaav voiced aloud to Jillas, pointing out the fact that Val couldn't possibly be truly happy with the life he led now if the causes of those old scars in the past could still haunt him. Especially when Val had no other way besides being forced to remember who he was to know what exactly it was that didn't quite feel right.

Jillas sighed. He knew he was defeated.

The truth of it was that he did understand what Gaav was saying; how could he not? It all made perfect sense. It's just...He didn't feel right about it. Whether or not his past was unconsciously bothering Val, he seemed outwardly to be just another happy teenager. He owed Val his life for saving him in the past. He owed it to him to bring Valgaav's memories back up. But, he didn't feel right about taking away Val's happiness no matter how good the cause behind it might be. None-the-less, Gaav was right yet again.

Gaav arched one bushy red eyebrow as he awaited any signs of a response from the fox towards what they were talking about. He was anything but a patient man, so it was taking all of his will power not to kill him. He realized that, despite his wishes, he had to keep the ones Val cared about safe no matter how much he, personally, would have liked to kill them. In a way, Gaav hated his human soul at times like this. The amount of love it allowed him to feel let him also feel the need to keep Val safe and happy. Keeping him happy meant no one he cared for could get hurt or else it would upset him.

"Alright.If I've gotta..." Jillas stated, staring up at Gaav. Though he felt somewhat doubtful of his self-given mission, he knew he had to accomplish it.

A smirk crossed over Gaav's lips as he put the book down on the table, arms crossed over his chest. "You should consider it an honour to be able to help him like this, not something you're being forced to do."

"I know..."

"You did serve him, didn't you? You enjoy it when he's happy, right?"

"Yea'..."

"Wouldn't giving him a chance to put things the way they should be make him happy?"

"Yea'."

"And he's happy being with me, isn't he?"

"Yea', he is."

"Then do you want to ruin that for him by making him go through life not knowing who he really is? By going along with Filia's idea of making him believe he's never had that sort of misery? That he doesn't have a reason to think about me or Valgaav, despite that's who he is? Who he was? Who he should, by all rights, be if it weren't for her meddling in his plans to regain the happiness her own people took away from him?"

Jillas looked horrified at the prospect of being the cause for any upsets towards Val. How could Gaav suggest that he, one of those who were once Valgaav's most loyal servants, would want anything but happiness and to please him?

"I can tell that's a no, then." Gaav chuckled, his voice rumbling like distant thunder.

"It is!"

"So get back to your job of trying to remind him who he is. But don't tell him the whole story all at once; not just yet."

"Why not, boss?"

Gaav arched his brow higher at the title. "If you're going to call me something, call me Lord Gaav...It's a title I haven't heard in a long time and I'm attatched to it."

"Lord Gaav, why not? It would be faster, woul'n'it?"

"But that would be too much stress on Val. He's Valgaav deep inside, but he's wrapped so tightly around the idea of being Val for so long that to force all of those memories into his mind at once would rip him apart and he wouldn't be any use to anyone for anything. No, I don't want him to suffer like that; he needs to know he's Valgaav, but it should be done little by little so he won't be combatting the truth with the lie he's been fed his whole life."

Jillas nodded in understanding, bowing his head for a moment. "Of course, Lord Gaav."

"Ahh, it's been ages since I heard those words from Val's mouth come to think of it; it'll feel good when he knows to say them."

"I can hint at it if you want, Lord Gaav. I stay there twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; I've gots plenty of time to do it."

"That would be good. Do it."

"Right!"

Recalling the look of longing in Val's eyes as he lay beneath him the previous night, Gaav smirked, mentally licking his lips. "See if you can't bring him around to being more ready for some things while you're at it."

Jillas raised an eyebrow of his own.

"I'm not a patient Mazoku, Jillas. I'm pushing my limits even waiting this long for him to come around and say he's ready for what I've been wanting to do to him for centuries. Don't push him into it, but hint to him about it when you get the chance."

Snickering, Jillas nodded, looking up at Gaav. "Anything else, Lord Gaav?"

"No, that's it; go back to the house or they'll wonder where you disappeared to."

With nothing more exchanged between the two, Jillas headed for the door of the inn, closing it behind him as he left. Before he got too far, however, a voice spoke up behind him and made him jump a bit in surprise.

"Jillas, what're you doin'?"

Turning around, Jillas jumped back from the form of Gravos, who stood towering over him with a look of outrage plastered over his face. Oh, damnit!

_Think fast, think fast, think fast!_ Jillas twitched nervously, replying, "Well, you see..."

"I saw you heading in there and I saw who you were talkin' to; what's he doing alive? What're you doing talking to him?"

Defeated, Jillas flopped down onto the sidewalk beside Gravos, who did the same, and launched into his explanation. Covering everything from what he had found out from Val to what Gaav had explained to him, he made sure to leave out no details lest Gravos misunderstand the situation. With luck, he wouldn't turn him in to Filia as a traitor.

At length, once the explanation was over, Gravos nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Opening his eye, he turned his head to look at Jillas whose tail was swaying slightly in anticipation for what might happen next. "You're helpin' him because he said it'd make Val happy to know he's really Lord Valgaav, right?"

Jillas nodded, gulping quietly. "Yea', that's it boss."

"I want in."

"Please don't tell Filia about- eh?"

"I wanna help out. Everything you said makes sense; Val should know who he really is, not the lie he's been told he's stuck believin'. He deserves to know the truth and who better to hear it from than us? An' if that guy-"

"Lord Gaav."

"-Makes 'im happy, then I'm not gonna stand in his way. Between you and me, I always thought he kinda had something for Lord Gaav anway and vicey versey."

Jillas nodded. "Yea'. Even if they might not'a known what it was until now."

"So can I help? I wanna join."

"Sure! The more 'elp I can get in this, the better! It'll make things go smoothly an' more quickly, too!"

With their resolve set, Jillas and Gravos made their way back to the house they, Filia, and Val resided in to get to work on their mission. With all thoughts of remorse against their future actions cleared from their mind, they were ready to serve Val faitfully when he was once more Valgaav.

And, suddenly, that future didn't seem so far away anymore.  
**To Be Continued..**  
_They just get more and more out of character as the story progresses...(sweatdrop)...I'm such a bad author...(smacks self with a ruler on the wrist) Bad author! And– is it just me, or did I have a lot of typos in here I didn't find? I feel like I made quite a few but can't find 'em..._


	14. Under Pressure

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_The last chapter went better than I'd thought it would. Thanks to my two most loyal of readers, (I shall dub thee both Knights of the Yaoi Table,) I now know what to do with this chapter where a certain issue is concerned. Read on:)_   
**Chapter Fourteen: Under Pressure**

The sun shone down on the town below it brilliantly, the leaves of the trees it shone through blocking most of the light from the ground below so that the life-giving light hit the grass in scattered spots. All around there was a smell of the fresly baked goods from the baker's shop mingling with the scent of fine wines out in the yards of the brewery.

While the rest of the world was focusing on their work and making money to support themselves, the only thing on the mind of one young teenager was visiting his secret boyfriend. Having just woken up, Val was full of renewed energy and was hoping to spend the day with the man he loved.

linking, Val turned his head as he heard a voice call out his name. It wasn't Gaav by a long shot, but rather Kalem.

"Imagine running into you, little Val." said Kalem, a glare in place. "You never struck me as the type to date dangerous men; quite clearly I was wrong about that."

Val furrowed his eyebrows at this comment, frowning widely. "He's not a dangerous man. He's very sweet and he has such–"

Kalem cut Val off quickly, growling in a voice to match the threatening glare, "He killed Chliff, you naïve brat; no one else would've wanted to do that. He and you are the only two who might have had any reason to want to. We all know you're a mother's boy, though, so you'd never have the nerve to kill him. It had to be your gorilla boyfriend."

Val was at a complete loss for words by this point in their conversation. He was not only surprised to hear that Chliff had been the one killed Filia mentioned previously, but he was he was also furious at the way Kalem spoke about his boyfriend. Yes, Gaav was protective of him, but there was no possible way he had killed Chliff. The time that he and Val weren't around each other was too limited for him to have possibly done it!

None-the-less, however, Val couldn't quite shake the feeling something was, indeed, a little bit off here.

"You're mistaken." hissed Val defensively, turning his back on Kalem and beginning to storm off. "Judge someone when you know them better, you hypocritical twit. The same could be said about you as what you said of him!"

With this, Val rushed off quickly away from the boy, leaving him stunned as he chuckled mentally at how good that outburst had felt.

In truth, Val was officially on his way to see Gaav for more urgent reasons than he had originally intended. He had to find out what was really the truth. Whatever Gaav told him, he knew, he'd believe no matter what the answer was.

In a short time, Val arrived at the inn and made his way up the stairs in the hope of locating Gaav's room. Not long after he began searching, however, he was growing annoyed at the person who had designed the inn. All the floors and corridors looked alike! There wasn't one single way to tell one from another and this only served to worsen the dragon's mood. He wanted to talk to Gaav, and he wanted to do it right now!

After turning yet another corner and finding himself face-to-face with a male who had golden hair with blue highlights, Val growled to himself. This was not going his way at all. Gods damnit, where was Gaav's room at?

As a gentle, seductive smile crossed the man's lips, Val blinked dumbly for a moment into the slit pupils of the grey-eyed man. It was easy enough to see, judging by the looks of his eyes, that he was either a high-classed dragon or middle-classed monster.

"What's wrong?" asked the man, looking up into Val's eyes. "You lost? Or did you come to have the Red Light Special?"

Dear Gods, the inn even had a whore hall! Did the owner even know about all this?

With a hard glare, Val opened his mouth to speak, but another man's voice interrupted him before he could. "He is most certainly not here for you to gawk at like a slab of fresh meat."

The man who had spoken first looked up into the eyes of the man now standing behind Val with a hand on his shoulder. A frown melted over his graceful lips at this. "Oh, it's you. You've ruined my fun three times in the past two weeks, you know."

Val turned around to see who had spoken in his favour, but it certainly wasn't who he'd thought it might have been. Further more, they certainly didn't look how he had expected he would!

Milgasia stood rooted to the spot behind him, a hand resting on one hip and the other on Val's shoulder, staring seriously into the eyes of the other man. In place of his usual clothes, there was a stunning lack of them which, frighteningly enough, matched almost exactly down to the stitch what the first man wore. A tight, form-fitting outfit with diamond-shaped sections of material cut out in attention-getting areas and the bottom slowly expanding out to something similar to a skirt, the whole ensemble- whether it complimented Milgasia's eyes and hair which he appeared to have highlighted blue or not -was shockingly familiar to the outfit the people in that town wore to signal to others they were for–

As realization struck Val, his eyes widened and he stepped back instinctually. What in the world was going on? What was Milgasia doing dressed like one of the people who sold themselves?

Milgasia didn't react to the way Val greeted him but instead kept his eyes focused solely on those of the other man's, staring coldly through his golden orbs with no signs of backing down from his comment.

Eventually, the man gave up and sighed, smirking at Milgasia as he turned away. "Fine then, just you don't answer. But come over and visit later, anyway; I'm looking forward to seeing you out of that thing."

Val stared openly at Milgasia, unable to think of anything to say. Of all the ways to see the older dragon, he had certainly never expected this to be it.

"You're wondering about the costume?" Milgasia said at last, looking down to Val after a moment.

Wide-eyed, Val shook his head furiously. "No, I wasn't!" That was a lie; he definitely was, but he was almost afraid to find out the explanation.

"It's what it looks like."

Val nearly fell over at this answer. Was that _all_ Milgasia could say about it? Here he was on a whore hall, dressed like one of them, and even owning up to the slutty stance they frequently kept, and all he could say was it's what it looked like?

Val shook his head rapidly in the attempt of removing the image newly placed in his mind. The last thing he wanted to think about was the love life of the man who had once been pursuing his own mother.

At this, Val blinked. "Oh...Mr. Milgasia? Do you know where the lobby might be?" he asked sheepishly. "I can't find my way around when all of the halls look so similar."

With a nod, Milgasia took Val's hand and he led the youth down several flights of stairs and to the inn lobby. Val felt a bit embarrassed allowing the dragon to lead him around like a child, especially when everyone in the inn seemed to be staring at them as they went along. After all, it wasn't every day one of the Golden 'Girls' came around the public part of the inn because their boss wouldn't always let them go anywhere alone. After all, the 'girls' certainly weren't free.

While the stares continued to be aimed at the two dragons, Val grew more and more nervous as each moment passed. If Gaav saw them, there was no telling what he might do. He was a jealous man when it came to Val and here the Ancient Dragon was with a man who was more than obviously willing to do things for any paying customers that he received.

In a way, it was unusual; Val had never pegged Milgasia as the type to resort to this style of living. He was a bit curious as to what had led to this, but he wasn't sure he could handle knowing if he were told.

Finally, after a few more minutes, the two came to a stop in front of the desk where the clerk was standing with an arched eyebrow.

Just as silently as he had stepped behind Val earlier, Milgasia gave a nod goodbye and turned on his heel, going back in the same direction they had come in.

Just when Val was about to ask the clerk for the number to the room Gaav was staying in, the redhead's voice boomed cheerfully and welcomingly from behind him. "Val, it's good to see you so early! I was expecting you to be later."

Astonishment confounded Val for a second, but not too long after that the most recent reason for visiting was brought back to Val's mind. The aqua-haired teenager narrowed his eyes as he turned to face Gaav.

"Dear we must talk." said Val in a venomous voice. "Lead the way to some place we can be alone and talk without anyone hearing us."

Now Gaav raised a bushy red eyebrow, one hand extended for Val to take it. He couldn't recall a time when Val seemed so angry with him; not even when he had approached him for the first time when Val was dying after the attack on his life.

Of course this certainly didn't happen. Instead, Val gently pushed him on ahead of him by nearly four steps.

Three corridors and one room later, Val had Gaav against the wall staring down at him with his eyebrows raised. Well, he was this far already; he'd might as well do what he'd come here for.

"Chliff was killed recentlyh and Kalem said you had a hand in it. I said you couldn't have because I'm always with you and I would've noticed it, but the fact remains you're being accused of it. You have to let everyone know you're innocent if you didn't do it. I know you didn't, did you?"

Gaav mentally gave himself a swift kick in the ass for this being brought up with the boy. If he lied and Val found out, he knew from seeing Valgaav's wrath on others in the past he would receive no mercy despite whatever he meant to him. However, if he told the truth, Val might be angry with him and then he would have to deal with the law enforcers, which would be more trouble than it was really worth. So, the knoledge of this in mind, Gaav gave the only answer that he decided made any sense.

"Yes; you were drunk and two of my...'Workers'...Were taking you home when he tried–"

"Gaav, murder is illegal! It's not right, it's illegal, and it's unjust!"

Sensing the building rage in his future fiance, Gaav leaned down to his height and gave Val a soft, cocky smile as he began to press their lips together, saying, "It was done to protect you. If it hadn't been you, I–"

What happened next surprised Gaav into utter silence and even amazed Val a bit. The boy had grown so furious at Gaav making this confession that he had brought his fist up and connected it with one side of the Chaos Dragon's face, leaving a bright red area where he had made contact.

There was no doubt about the place Gaav and Val stood after this visit in the Demon Dragon King's mind. The Ancient was pissed as Hell at him. And what Val growled as he slammed the door shut made it perfectly clear where the majority of Val's rage was coming from now.

"Chliff was a bastard, but he did have a family and friends! Now those people won't ever hear or see him again!"

So, the confession had triggered a memory from the past had it? And judging by the things Val had chosen to say, it was the memory of his kind being slaughtered. In a way, Gaav supposed upon reflection of the situation and Val's past, his anger was more than justified and understandable. Val, with his friends and family killed, would be able to sympathize with Chliff's friends and family members whether he knew why or not.

Well, he truly had messed up with Val. But then again, it was just memories talking. He might come around later feeling confused as to why Chliff's death bothered him and feeling bad about hitting Gaav.

Gaav chuckled as he headed for his room; had Val been anyone else, he would have killed him on the spot without hesitation fo striking him. But then, that was why Gaav could say that he loved the Ancient Dragon.

He certainly was _not_ anyone else. He wasn't even anywhere near being _like_ someone else.

Outside the inn, Val sighed to himself as he slammed the door and turned to walk in the direction of Filia's shop. He knew Jillas was probably working there at the moment and he wanted to talk to someone about problems with love. He certainly couldn't tell his mother; she'd ask questions and wouldn't stop until she knew absolutely everything. Jillas, on the other hand, would stop asking if Val should want him to.

Not even five minutes later, Val found himself at the door of the antique shop, one hand on the knob to open it. This was definitely a good choice, he'd decided along the way, because Jillas might be able to help him. He'd never seen the fox with a girlfriend since as far back as he could remember, but he was definitely older than him and might have had experience in the past to give him advice with. Right now, he was almost desperate enough to take any advice offered to him.

As Val stepped into the shop, the bells above the door gave a cheerful jingle and Jillas looked up from the counter, smiling widely. "'Ey boss!" he called, rushing from behind the counter to greet Val.

With a forced smile, Val nodded a simple hello to his friend.

Jillas, not having noticed the annoyed air about Val, cleared his throat. It was now or never, and the young dragon was here after all. "Val, I've got a question."

Blinking, the aqua-haired teen looked up at Jillas. "What's that?"

"Is it alright if Gravos finds out about your boyfriend? 'E helps take care'a you, and I was wonderin' if maybe he could know if he wouldn't tell Filia."

Val dropped onto an old bar stool sitting near the counter, letting his forehead thump onto the top of it beside the cash register. Just what he wanted: for his day to get worse. To make things even more pitiful, it was still fairly early out! Things just weren't going his way this morning.

"Boss? What's wrong?" asked the shorter of the two, tilting his head in concern at Val.

"It's fine; go ahead and let him know."

"That's good." came a voice belonging to neither Val or Jillas. "'Cuz I already overheard it earlier today when you two was discussin' it!"

Val rolled his eyes at this. How did he know that was probably why Jillas had asked? Damned if he was going to complain about it just now, though; he was in too bad a mood after the earlier confrontation and revealing of the truth with Gaav to care about much now. Instead, the amber-eyed boy sighed, saying, "Alright. I figured that would be the reason behind the question anyway."

Stepping out from the back room where spare objects were stored, Gravos leaned against the table Val's forehead rested upon. "So ya got yourself a guy! That's great; if he pushes ya into anything before you're ready you just let us know. We'll take care'a him, right, Jillas? Just like the old days!"

Val's eyes snapped open at this comment. _Old days?_ he thought to himself, brow knitting in confusion and thought. _I've never had a boyfriend or girlfriend before for them_ to _have done anything about a situation like that in the past...No, that's not quite right; that's- no, it has to be..._

Noting the slight reaction he received from Val at this comment, Gravos continued on, grinning over at Jillas who stood fidgeting a bit in the attempt of thinking of something to say to gently shove another memory to the front of their friend's mind. "Ah, we're proud of ya though." chuckled Gravos. "Takin' your time gettin' used to things with 'im before going that far's a good idea. Gotta be killer on him though."

Lifting his head, Val blinked, clearly jogged from his thoughts by this. "What do you mean?"

"We always used'a take up for you boss, especially since people first started bein' interested in you!" Jillas added in quickly, smiling. Oh, Val had no idea just how true _that_ was...

"No," muttered Val, brow furrowing again. "I mean, what do you mean it's probably killing him? He was doing well enough with the idea of waiting."

"Attitude-wise, yeah, he probably was." Gravos said simply, snickering. "Say you're tryin'a get someone to trust you. You've seen it happen all the time around town: guys goin' after girls, they wanna sleep with the girls, but the girls ain't ready. Right?"

Val nodded.

"So what's the guy do? He says he's gonna wait until she gives the okay for it before 'e does anything. It gets her to trust him and she gets to thinkin' maybe he's not that bad. So the girl gives in, and 'e gets what he wanted. Well, this guy you're seein' said he'd wait for you. If he came back just to get ya, he's probably been wantin' you for a hell of a long time. Right?"

"I suppose so..." sighed Val, uncertainty colouring his voice as he spoke. "He didn't seem like the kind who would deceive though..."

_Ahh hell, Val, if you only knew that's definitely not how Gaav is with everybody._ Gravos mused silently in his thoughts as he shrugged visibly. "Might not be, I just said 'e probably wants you like hell."

"Yeah, boss; but by the sound'a things you two're perfect for each other, eh?" Jillas grinned, sitting down beside Val.

"Yeah just think of what they'll prob'ly be sayin' a couple'a months from now!"

Pressing against Gravos, Jillas clasped his hands together in front of him. As Val raised an eyebrow, the fox spoke in a pitch of voice that sounded similar to Val's. "Oh I'm the luckiest guy in all'a this side of the world!"

Smirking, Gravos wrapped an arm around his waist, the other's hand resting on one hip as he said in a deep voice, "Only this side of the world? Lemme show you the other, too, then!"

"Oh take me!"

"If you insist baby!"

The two broke away, laughing loudly as Val stared at them blankly, his expression so indescribable it struck them as absolutely hilarious. Jillas wiped a tear away from his eye as he finished laughing, holding onto his sides. "Sor- sorry boss...Couldn't help it!"

Gravos gave Val no time to reply to the words Jillas spoke, however, as he burst into loud laughter again. When he had calmed down enough to speak again, he stammered out, "Yeah and whenever 'e does give the guy permission to do it, can you imagine what it's gonna be like?"

A pause came from the other as he thought for a moment, then laughed aloud, falling off of the stool and crashing to the floor with a painful 'THUD'. He continued to laugh despite the pain now coursing through his back as he sat up. As he regained his calmness, Jillas stuttered, "Ye- yeah!"

Speaking once again in a deep voice, Gravos growled, "Keep that pose—lemme get- ah hell!–"

Jillas once more mimiced Val's voice's pitch as he replied, groaning, "Ahh don't stop!"

Yet again the pair burst out laughing, leaving a paler-than-death Val staring at them.

"Relax kid." Gravos said at length once he and Jillas had calmed down enough to speak without laughing. "You love the guy, right?"

Sighing, Val nodded, hugging himself about the waist as he recalled how secure he felt wrapped tightly in the man's embrace.

"Ya trust him not t'do anything till you're ready don'cha?"

Again, Val nodded, a small smile flickering over his lips. He did trust him not to take advantage of him; Gods know, he could have done so at any point he'd chosen because of the difference in their sizes and strengths. He would've had an even easier time of doing so when Val was so smashed that night but he'd chosen not to betray the trust Val had in him like that.

"So just go with it, eh? The ride's as fun as the destination anyways! Besides, Lord Val; you two's are perfect together. I ain't ever seen you this happy before and that says a lot, right?"

Val heard none of the beginning part of Gravos' last comment, however; he was still deep in thought. He hadn't gone straight to the authorities of the town to tell them he knew the man responsible for Chliff's death even though he knew deep inside it was the right thing to do no matter how much he loved Gaav. Then, all at once, it hit him. He didn't want to get the man he loved more than anything in trouble even if it were only fair and just that he endure the consequences for murdering someone. He loved him too much to get him into trouble like that. He trusted him with his life if no one else's, and that alone was enough for the young dragon. If he trusted him and loved him so much, and if he felt such a strong pull towards him, then...

Leaping up from the stool, Val threw his arms around Jillas' and Gravos' necks, hugging them tightly. Despite the confused looks on their faces, he had a feeling they knew what it was for. To be sure they didn't misunderstand him, Val said after a few moments as he pulled back and ran towards the door, "Thank you for everything; I can always count on the two of you to clear things up for me!"

Once the door closed, Jillas turned his head to face Gravos, blinking. "Whot was that about?"

"I guess we did somethin' right. Maybe we got a little more information through to 'im about who he is."

Looking back to the door, Jillas closed his eye quietly in thought. _Jus' be careful, boss, you're playin' with fire...After all you've done for me, I don't wanna see you gettin' burned._ he thought silently.

As Val continued down the street towards the inn, he sighed happily, eyes closed in remembrance of the sensations flowing through him last time he'd been as close to Gaav as he had in mind to be now. The sunlight shone down upon him from above, only serving to make the day feel even better than it already had suddenly become.

Gravos was right; he loved and trusted Gaav dearly. If he had so much faith in the tall, fiery-haired man, then why be afraid or uncertain of so much intimacy?

Val went forward across another street as soon as the roadway was clear of riders on their horses and horse-drawn-carts, still smiling to himself. As he went, he brushed past someone and gave a brief apology though he allowed his eyes to remain closed, the smile still plastered firmly on his lips.

Blinking, Filia looked back at Val as he walked away from her. It wasn't like him to just walk on by her whenever they met somewhere. He always stopped to at least say hello, or at least to apologize if he bumped into her like that. She'd raised him that way, after all; manners were important.

A thought entered her mind and she smiled a warmly, hugging the vase she carried protectively to her in a loving fashion. _He must be going to visit the girl he's been seeing lately! Ohh, I don't even know who she is, but if he wanted me to know, he would've told me...Filia, you're his motherly figure and it's your duty to make sure she's suitable for him! The last thing you want is for him to be falling in love with and cavorting about with someone who might, for all you know, be just like Xelloss! Oooohhh, that namagomi! I get so mad just thinking about– no, focus!_ she thought quietly, stepping forward towards the direction from which she'd just come Val was heading in.

She knew it was wrong to follow someone, but when that someone has been in your care for seventeen years it only seemed right to make sure they would be safe wherever they were going!

_I want to meet this girl Val's so interested in; maybe she's not a bad person. She could be like Mister Zelgadiss, myself, or Miss Amelia. Worst case scenario, she could be similar to Xelloss or Miss L– FOLLOW HIM you moron! That's the_ last _thing in the world you want for him! Ooh, don't let me be too late to stop things from progressing that far if she does turn out to be like either one of them!_  
**To Be Continued..**  
Oh yeah. I definitely screwed up Jillas' and Gravos' characters in this chapter. Rgh; just wait until the later chapters. You'll really have fun with that...


	15. Deflowering the Rose Edited Version

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Wheeeeee this is where it gets really fun!_ YAOI _baby! I'm not so good with writing GaavVal in that sense yet but none-the-less I'll post a more graphic (and more OOC) version elsewhere then give the link at the bottom of the next chapter. Bear with me and, if there are any of you left reading this fic after this chapter, I will worship the ground you walk on for the rest of my life. That or I'll have you committed under question of your sanity because you can handle all this shit._  
**Chapter Fifteen: Deflowering the Rose**

Turning the corner of the street, Filia tilted her head and furrowed her brow in curiosity. An inn? Val was going to an inn? Why on earth would he need to stop here first?

Shaking her head, the blonde hid behind a nearby potted plant while Val approached the man behind the front desk. The two exchanged a few words before the clerk winked and pointed the now-blushing young dragon up the stairs.

Stepping forward as soon as Val was out of sight, Filia gave a friendly grin to the desk clerk, who just raised an eyebrow. "Hello; could you possibly tell me where the young man who was just here a moment ago went to? You see, I'm his mother so to speak, and I wanted to meet with the person he's been seeing for a few days now. I have this feeling that th one he went up to see is–"

Holding up one finger, the man wh ose name tag read "Kevin Schrender" shook his head. "I'm afraid," he began, "I'm in no position to give that information out to anyone regardless of their relationship to the young man. He made it clear he didn't wish to be disturbed."

Staring in disbelief at the man, Filia narrowed her eyes as her hands clenched into fists. "What do you mean I can't have the information on where my son went?"

With no time to explain, Kevin jumped out from behind the desk as Filia began her transformation into her dragon form. Raising his arms over his head, the young man shouted, "No! Don't do that in here, miss! What I meant was–"

Instantly, the ex-priestess ceased in the midst of transforming and reverted to her completely human form. "Go on?" she coaxed the man.

"What I meant...Was...I can't gie you the number of the room he went to or whose room it is. What I can do is send a maid," Kevin winked to her at this, "up there to the room if they need room service. I'll let you do it if you'll help me stay out of trouble for doing it by actually taking some towels up with you when you do go."

Filia paused a moment, smiling widely at the idea. "I'll do it!"

"All you have to do to call their room, maid, is dial in room number 415."

Meanwhile, in the room...

Val hugged Gaav tightly around the neck, sighing in content happiness as the taller of the two gently guided him backwards against the bed. A smile graced over his lips, broadening when Gaav leaned down to kiss them. "I'm sorry again for earlier today." Val apologized for the tenth time in under five minutes.

Shaking his head slowly, Gaav pressed a kiss to his lips again as he whispered, "Don't be...Just lay back and relax."

The aqua-haired dragon nodded, allowing his eyes to flicker shut as the other man's hands trailed softly down his thighs and back up. For a moment, his breath caught in his throat as Gaav nudged his legs apart from one another with one of his knees, staring up into deep pools of blue.

"You sure you're ready for this?" the Demon Dragon again whispered, kissing Val's ear as he did so.

With a soft, silent shudder of pleasure, the teenager closed his eyes once more and circled his arms around Gaav's neck, pulling him down even closer to him until the redhead's chest touched against his own, a hand on either side of Val's stomach. "I'm positive. I've never been anymore certain of something in my life."

Chuckling, Gaav pulled back a few inches to kiss him again. As they pulled apart slowly, he asked, "Then do you want to make it into a kind of game?"

The smile on Val's face widened at this a bit. "What kind of game?"

After a few moments of silence had passed, Gaav opened his mouth to speak. Staring down into Val's now-open amber eyes, he watched for any flicker of a reaction to his words as he stated, "Master and servant."

Sure enough, there was a minute catch in Val's breath as the words sank in. "Master...And servant..." repeated the younger partner slowly, staring hard into Gaav's eyes. _Why does it feel right to be referring to him as a master?_

"Yeah; it makes the act more passionate. Or, at least more erotic, anyway. You'll enjoy it. All we do is act the parts."

"I see...How though?"

"We need a plot. What about...I know; a–"

Biting his lower lip, Val interrupted the man. Speaking slowly and clearly, Val stated in a slightly distant voice, "I'm a servant who's been in love with you for centuries, but was too proud and afraid to come out and admit it...You're the one I serve under and you've been in the same situation as me for about just as long...And after years of keeping it quiet from each other we come out and admit it, which leads us to this moment."

A deep, booming laugh came from Gaav at these words. Val hit the nail on the head and probably didn't even fully know it just yet! That was a good sign, though; he was another step closer to awakening the memories buried within him. It wouldn't be too much longer before he knew everything—before Val was back to the way he once was and they could get even with the ones who put the dragon in this position...The position of not knowing who he had been, just how strong the bond between the two of them was, and the reason behind ever having met Gaav in the first place.

"That's a good idea." Gaav chuckled quietly, kissing Val on the lips once more. "Think you could call me Lord instead of Master though?"

"If you'll let me go by my first name and your last when we're alone."

Those were the terms? That was it? Hey, Gaav wasn't going to complain; he could use that idea to his advantage more than anyone could possibly know.

Nodding, the Chaos Dragon smirked and clasped one of Val's hands in his own. "We can arrange that one...Valgaav."

Val chuckled deeply, wrapping his arms around Gaav's neck as an inexplicable wicked smirk crossed his lips. "I like the sound of that; it wouldn't be bad at all..."

Back in the main lobby, however, Filia glared at the contraption the man had dared called a phone. "How does this thing work?" growled the woman in frustration, smacking one side of it and holding the receiver to her ear upside down.

Kevin took the phone from her, sighing as he righted it and pressed her finger against the number 4, then the number 1, and finally the number 5. "Like that." he said simply, leaning forward onto the desk as the phone gave a ringing sound over the line.

There was a slight clicking noise and Filia smiled upon seeing Kevin mouth that the sound meant someone on the other line had picked up the phone in their room. The smile only widened when she heard Val's voice waft over the line, sounding slightly strained.

"Ye- yeah; hel- hello?"

Frowning at the way the greeting was given, Filia furrowed her brow slightly. Clearing her throat, she said in a voice higher pitched than her usual one, "Hello; this is room service. Can I get you any–"

Kevin and Filia's eyes widened at the sound of Val screaming out as he dropped the phone to the floor, a long, loud, rhythmic moan emitting from the phone now held weakly within the woman's gloved hand.

"It would seem your son's got his mind on things other than getting a visit from you or from room service. It sounds more like he's already got all the service he needs in that room right about now." chuckled Kevin.

"Take this stupid thing back, I have to go get my baby!"

Throwing the phone back to Kevin, Filia began racing off. Blinking, the realization struck her suddenly that she wasn't getting anywhere. But why would that be?

Looking back towards the clerk, Filia found the answer to her unasked question. Kevin had a foot planted firmly on her pink-bowed-tail, holding her rooted to the spot. In his arms were the towels he had made her agree to take earlier in return for letting her find out where Val went.

"How dare you?" cried Filia, hitching up her dress long enough to pull out her mace and collide it with the side of Kevin's head, sending him flying. Quickly putting the mace back up and lowering her dress, Filia held out her arms and caught the towels as they slowly wafted down from the air where they'd been scattered. Once they were all securely held within her grasp, the young Golden raced up to locate room number 415.

Behind her, as she disappeared from view, a familiar form appeared in the room sitting atop the front desk, staring down at the unconscious, twitching man. A smirk crossed the newcomer's face before he burst into silent laughter, falling backwards from the desk to the floor. However, before his back could even touch the wood of the floor, the man disappeared from view, leaving a half-filled room full of people confused and intrigued.

After nearly ten minutes of searching, Filia finally spotted a plaque by one of the doors on the hall that had engraved on it in gold the numbers 415. As she placed her hand on the door knob and prepared to turn it, a deep voice from within the room made her pause.

"Val...Call for me..." groaned the voice's owner, a ferral tone colouring it.

"Ohhh– yes Lord–! Don't– don't stop–!"

At these words, Filia dropped the forgotten towels to the floor, her hand falling back by her side as she dropped to her knees, pressing her ear against the door once more. It couldn't be– Val had been seeing a beautiful young lady, hadn't he? It wasn't possible he'd meant– was it? It was true, he _hadn't_ specified what gender the person he'd fallen in love with had been...But it couldn't be– could it?

From behind the door there came a long string of panted commands from the one Val was with, all of which- by the sound of it -were carried out more than willingly.

"My L- Lord– ooh, I love–"

The other man laughed quietly, the sound rumbling in his throat as Val's voice went up an octave in a cry of pleading.

It was true...As much as Filia wished it wasn't, it was true. Val had been seeing the man in the room with him for only a few days, and already things were getting too serious for Val's young age.

Alright, he wasn't as young as she let him believe he was, but in this life he was still only a teenager.

_Oh, where did I go wrong..._ Filia weeped quietly to herself, staring at the door with a frown on her face. _What didn't I teach him that he should have known? What did I teach him that maybe I shouldn't have? Where did I go wrong? Ohh, Fire Dragon King, please! Tell me what made this happen!_

From seemingly nowhere, a voice rang in Filia's ears as if in answer of her silent prayer. "Valgaav had a past with the culprit. He that did this is he that lives in this town under your nose, staying here for Val's sake."

Blinking, Filia gasped audibly and covered her mouth with one hand, hoping the room's occupants hadn't heard her. _I should have known! They're always together, they always were in the past—How could they? Ooohhh, wait until I get my hands around that scrawny neck of theirs! Jillas, Gravos! You corrupted my baby!_

Leaping to her feet instantly, Filia ran down the stairs leading to the floor Gaav and Val's room was on, leaving the towels scattered on the floor.

In the air, a few feet from where Filia had been sitting so that her back had been to him, floated a familiar violet-haired Mazoku. Raising an eyebrow as Filia's back retreated from sight, Xelloss snickered quietly to keep from being heard as he opened one eye, looking towards the door. "My, my..." whispered the monster to himself, crossing one leg over the knee of the other as he floated there. "It looks as though I was a little too late to get here in time to stop them from meeting. Then again, this could turn out more amusing than if I had been on time. But, why do I get the feeling dear Filia misunderstood my little hint?"

Sighing, Xelloss touched down to the floor, standing upright. "I'm afraid I'll have to find another way to intervene here, won't I? It's time to visit a few friends I haven't seen in about a year or so..."

With not even another syllable uttered, Xelloss flickered from sight, leaving the towels alone on the dusty floor as the couple within the room continued with their 'game'.  
**To Be Continued..**


	16. Face the Consequences

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_I'm so, so,_ **SO** _very sorry it took me so long to update this story! I broke an arm and couldn't type or write for a while...Then I was having a crisis or two of the heart and a few friends had some problems, and it all made it harder and harder to write fanfictions. So, instead, I turned my attention to displaying my problems through original songs/poems/stories on my account. I'm so sorry! _

_Anyway, for those who haven't decided they hate me for taking so long, yeah, chapter sixteen. Ever since I discovered possessed-anarchist had a story like this one started already and decided to read it, it's become very hard to finish writing it. XD I don't want anybody to think I stole the idea but it's starting to seem that way, darn it all! By the way, below's the link to the more detailed version of the last chapter. Later!_

w w w . g e o c i t i e s . c o m / t e e n o t i s m o n / M y O b s e s s i o n 1 5 . h t m l

_Just take out the spaces and put it into the web browser. It should take you to my friend's geocities page. (I had to store it there because mine has limited space.)  
Oh, and, please don't kill me for the suggested pairing in this...I actually had someone -request- this._  
**Chapter Sixteen: Face the Consequences**

Jillas flopped back into the chair of the living room, a sigh coming from his snout as he did so. "I'm exhausted." he complained.

"Yea' so am I." Gravos replied at length. Looking down at Jillas, he thought a few moments to himself. Only moments later, he spoke up, saying, "You think Gaav and Lord Val probably hit it off?"

"I'd bet anything on that, boss!" chuckled Jillas.

"Y'think what we did was right?"

At this question, Jillas paused for a brief moment and examined the ceiling thoughtfully. "That's got more ta do wit' whot view you look at it from boss." he replied finally. "Boss Filia might not see it as doing somethin' good for Lord Val, but she can't see it from the angle we got presented to us by Gaav."

Before the conversation could carry on much further, the door burst open and was slammed shut and in came a fuming, royally pissed off Filia.

"Ya think she knows?" whispered Gravos as both he and Jillas struggled to stand to their feet. "She looks ticked enough."

"Of course I know!" the Golden Dragon shouted, fists shaking at her sides as she stopped directly in front of the two. "What did you think would happen! Did you think I wouldn't ever find out!"

"Beg for mercy?" Gravos suggested, looking down at Jillas then back up at Filia.

"Let's." came Jillas' response.

Simultaneously, the two dropped onto the floor to their knees. As Filia glared down at them, they began a canon of, "We're sorry boss! We di'n' mean no harm! It was all in Lord Val's bes' interest!"

"It was in my baby boy's best interest to be spurred on to find a boyfriend and then _not even tell me_ that it was a _man_! It was in his best interest to mess with his mind like that! _I should kill you two_ for this!"

"Please don't kill us we di'n' mean any harm! We only wanted'e help him after everything 'e went through last time!"

The blonde sighed audibly, eyes sliding closed for a moment as she put her palm to her forehead in thought. "I don't mind," she began, "that you two tried to help Val with whatever problems he might have told you he's been having that he didn't let me know about. I appreciate it very much, in fact. But I've tried to raise him properly for so long..For over seventeen years I tried to teach him right from wrong, what's acceptable compared to what's not, and then you two go and completely re-wire his mind on how love works between two people."

This put a halt to Gravos and Jillas' pleas for mercy, the two instead blinking in slight confusion. "We whot?" Jillas inquired, head tilting to one side slightly.

"You two filled his head with ideas about going around with another man with the affection you two share."

Jillas and Gravos' jaws dropped to the floor at this remark. Affection? Between _them_? Where had she possibly gotten _that_ idea?

"A- affection?" Gravos stammered.

"Of course. I don't know how or why I didn't realize it sooner than I did today, though. I mean, you two were always together when I was traveling with Miss Lina and Mister Gourry and the others. You're always together now even when Val's been reborn and doesn't even remember you were serving him in his past life; it makes sense. I just can't believe I never quite realized you two were together until today."

Silence hovered throughout the room as the two on their knees processed the assumption the ex-priestess had made.

"Please don't misunderstand me. I don't have anything against the lifestyle you two choose to lead; you're both very kind to both Val and I and I know you wouldn't do anything to intentionally betray or endanger either of us."

_Dat hurts._ Gravos thought to himself as the woman continued, frowning as he looked over to Jillas who seemed to be thinking basically the same thing.

"However," Filia continued on by saying, "when it starts to affect the choices and judgement of my little baby boy, I have to step in and do something. It's too late to intervene with his judgement this far, but I want to ask you to do one thing for me."

"Wh- whot?" stammered Jillas, blinking up at Filia.

"I want you to please be careful about displaying affections around Val. He's still at an impressionable age and he's already started mimicing what he clearly must have learned from the two of you. So, please, try not to be too affectionate in front of him..At least not until he's grown up a little more."

"R- righ', got it." Gravos stated uncertainly, rubbing the back of his head in deep thought.

With a smile, Filia sighed in slight relief. "Thank you very much for being so agreeable about everything." she said sweetly, turning to head for the kitchen to clean a little bith. "I really appreciate it."

Once they were certain the ex-priestess was out of hearing range from them, Gravos and Jillas collapsed backwards to the floor in exhaustion from the fright they'd been given a few moments ago. That was too close..

"Affections? Us?" snickered Jillas after a minute or so. "Where'd the boss get that idea?"

"I dunno but we got ourselves a fine situation here, 'uh? Now what're we gonna do? We can't let 'er catch on."

"I got no idea boss. Me heart's still going too fast from her first comin' in here and shouting like that to think!"

"Yeah I know.." Gravos paused for a few moments as he thought over a few options left open to them. When he had crossed off every other possibility that might keep he and Jillas from being found out by the still-slightly-distraut Golden Dragon, he sighed. "Well I got one idea."

"Whot's that?"

"We can either blow ourselves up with some'a your explosives you kept after that Dark Star thing," he began.

Jillas interrupted with a pitiful whining sound.

"Or," he continued, "we c'n go along with what she thinks about us and keep outta trouble by doin' it."

"We really ain't got no other choice do we boss?"

"Nah, I tried to think of some. You got any ideas?"

"Unfortunately no."

"Then we're stuck with that one. You in Jillas?"

"Yeah, I gotta be if we don't want'e get caught."

"This, is gonna be awk-"

"Oh, by the way!" Filia's voice came from the kitchen, coming nearer.

"Jillas take dat cloak you got on off!" Gravos hissed quietly to his friend.

"Whot! Why!" Jillas hissed back, frowning.

"Jus' do it before she gets in here!"

With no time to waste with the blonde coming so much closer to the door that they could see her shadow, Jillas tugged the cloak off of himself and tossed it in a random direction. The article of clothing landed without a sound in a haphazard heap.

"Whot now?"

"Jus' go with the act!" whispered Gravos as Filia stepped her first foot through the doorway to the room they were in.

"Whot are-"

Just before the blue-eyed woman came into full view, Gravos shifted over to lean awkwardly down over Jillas, giving the red fox a wink to signal for him to go along with the temporary act. It would keep suspicion off of them for what they really were up to with Val. At least, that's what they hoped, since they weren't positive.

Hesitantly, Jillas swung his arms around the other's neck in hopes Filia hadn't noticed the second thoughts on the action. Luckily, it had gone unnoticed by the woman as she stared down at them blinkingly.

"To say the least this isn't exactly the arrangement I thought it would have been." she stated nervously, smiling a bit as she backed up a pace or so.

"Did'je need somethin'?" Gravos inquired, looking up at her from where he and Jillas were sprawled over the ground together, quietly wishing she would hurry and leave the room.

"Uhm, oh,- I was going to ask if the two of you were hungry but I..I guess it can wait until later; I'm sorry to have interrupted you."

Saying nothing more, Filia exited the room and shook her head slowly. That was definitely the last thing she had hoped to see when she walked into the room. Couldn't they wait until the house was empty besides the two of them to do those sorts of things..?  
**To Be Continued..**


	17. Why, It's Simple: Help Me or He Dies

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Why, It's Simple: Help Me Or He Dies **

Lina Gabriev stood by the roadside, shoulders slumped forward as she attempted to catch her breath. She, her husband, Amelia, Zelgadiss, and Edna had been walking all day long and still hadn't reached their destination. On top of that, if she were to be honest, she had her doubts that Edna even remembered who they were or where they were supposed to be headed for.

"Alright grandma how far away are we now?" groaned Lina, looking down at Edna who was seated at her side on the ground to rest for a moment.

"Oh, not far now." Edna assured the redheaded sorceress. "Not very far at all."

Amelia gave a sigh. Her feet hurt, her hair was messed up like crazy, and it was getting even darker. Groaning, she inquired, "But how far _is_ that?"

"About one more day." Edna replied.

Silence covered the group as they rose to their feet and began walking on. After a few minutes, Zelgadiss muttered as he strode up towards Lina, "I'm beginning to sense a pattern: Everyone beyond the barrier that had first fallen during the ordeal with Valgaav has way too much time on their hands if they think a day isn't a long time to travel."

Lina snickered, "Guess so. Then again, they didn't have to spend their time learning high level spells and fighting upper level Monsters."

Zel was silent for a few moments, glancing up at the buildings of the town they'd just entered. When he remained silent and said nothing, Lina looked over at him. "What's up, Zel?" she asked, an eyebrow arched.

"What do you mean, Lina?" the chimera asked.

"Well, you're not acting like your usual self, Zel."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on; whenever we travelled together in the times past, you always got this kid in a candy store complex." Lina gave a small nervous chuckle when her rocky friend appeared miffed and confused by this. "You know what I mean, huh?"

Zel glared at Lina.

"It's just that you're not going on about this town possibly having a cure for your body is all. You always do."

"She is right, you know, my dear Zelgadiss." came a cheery voice from ahead of the group.

"It can't be." Lina groaned. "Not you..What business do you have here of all places?" she inquired, looking up and letting her eyes meet the closed ones of Xelloss.

The trickster priest smiled. "Well you see, Lina, I have business a few towns away from here. I was just on my way over there right now, actually. It was such a nice surprise to run into you here."

"Stop pretending, Xelloss." growled Zel, stepping up to the Mazoku. As his hands clenched into fists, he continued, "By now we all know that if we run into you anywhere but at holiday reunions, and sometimes even then, it means something of world-destroying proportions is going on."

Amelia stepped forward, frowning nervously as Xelloss turned his attention towars her when she began speaking. "They're right." she sighed. "It's always bad whenever we run into each other."

Edna came forward, now, blinking up at the plum-haired man. "Who is this young man?"

"Yeah!" Gourry put in, blinking. "Where have I seen him before?"

Giving her husband a rough smack to the back of the head, Lina shouted, "Hello! He's the same guy who we met when that whole thing with Gaav was going on! The one who we ran into when we had to deal with Valgaav and Filia! For crying out loud, Gourry, he's pretty hard to forget!"

Gourry blinked again. "What's a Gaav? Is it that thing judges-"

"For the love of Gods, Gourry, we already went over who Gaav-" Lina paused when the sound of Edna sniffing sadly reached her ears. "Uh, well now, you see-"

"Actually..." elloss began, his cheerful tone becoming thick and serious, "That is what my business involves."

Everyone stood in silence as they stared at the Mazoku priest. Had he really just come right out and said that? He, who would be more likely to make jokes than to give anyone a straight answer when he's asked a question?

"Now I know we're in trouble for running into you." Lina stated slowly and suspiciously. "What did you mean, exactly?"

As Xelloss' eyes opened, a shiver ran down Lina, Amelia, and Zelgadiss' spines. This was definitely a very bad thing, and just how big the situation was was beginning to truly sink in now. Once he was certain he had everyone's attention Xel began, saying, "It's about our dear Val. He has developed into quite the handsome dragon, hasn'the?"

"What's your point here?"

"Patience, my dear Lina, is something of a virtue that you seem to be on ill terms with. Anyway, though, our little Val has been gaining the interest of several people recently where he lives. One that is- or was, at any rate -the young grandson of the 5-time-Champion of Cherry Blossoms with whom you are traveling..."

"Who's the other?" Amelia inquired, softly patting Edna on the shoulder as she fought the ure to cry over the mention of her grandson.

The perpetual smile on Xelloss' face faded and now his expression was dead serious to match his tone of voice. "An old acquaintance of ours who was an outcast of both your race and mine."

"Gaav." Zel stated quietly.

Xelloss nodded. "Yes. The Demon Dragon King."

"He's trying to turn Val back into Valgaav isn't he?" Lina put in after a moment.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. And, as it stands now, Lord Beastmaster has ordered me to find you and enlist your aid in bringing little Val over to the side of the Monsters before Gaav can warp his ideas yet again."

"You always have a catch when you tell us anything that actually helps us, xelloss. What is it this time?"

"Now, Lina. That is a secret."

"This isn't funny, Xel. Your secret keeping got old way back when. Now, this time the situation involves someone who's already had enough trouble out of life before that doesn't, and shouldn't have to put up with it again. What's the catch? And what exactly are you planning on doing if we don't agree to helping you by doing whatever your boss tells us?"

A dangerous smile crossed Xelloss' lips at this. Eyes flashing, he stepped closer to Lina until he was standing toe-to-toe with her. Speaking in an ominously dark tone of voice, he stated simply, "Why, it's simple. Help me or he dies."  
**To Be Continued..**


	18. Welcome Back

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_It looks like Val might be kind of shy, but eh, Valgaav apparently_ is _the type who would kiss and tell. Can't really see Gaav doing it though. That's kinda backwards isn't it?_  
**Chapter Eighteen: Welcome Back**

"Ahg; I'm gettin' tired'a all these acts!" Gravos shouted once he was certain that Filia was out of the shop. "How many times're we gonna have ta keep lettin' on we're together!"

"Until this 'ole mess is over wi', boss." Jillas sighed. "It's either that or let-"

Jillas was cut off as the door to the shop opened. Looking up, he gave a smile as Val stepped into the room. As soon as the Ancient was seated on a stool by the counter, the fox paused before he even began speaking, his eye a bit wide. Something was different about Val and now Gravos seemed to latch onto that fact at the slight confusion and intrigue written over Jillas' face.

"'Ey!" Gravos said, smiling. "How'd it go over with Gaav?"

Val's eyes shifted to the side to focus upon Gravos, a small scowl fixed upon his lips. At this, the scowl became a slight smirk and he chuckled quietly, "Very well."

The fox stayed silent for a moment as Gravos stared on at the teen. Now it was obvious something was definitely different about him...But what?

The two watched quietly as Val stood and strode briskly to the counter and leaped over it in one try, kneeling down and pulling out a small brown box. Scrawled on the front side of it, in beautiful gold ink, were the words 'Old Toys.' Inside were many of the toys Filia had put up that Val had stopped playing with years ago. Moments later, the Ancient pulled from the box an object and then plaed the box back under the counter in its original place.

Deja vu set in for Jillas and Gravos as they stood watching in silence while Val sat back down and fiddled idly with the click-clack toy. They had seen the behavior before now and were all too familiar with where it had been. Or rather, who it had been in.

Gravos elbowed Jillas in the side, nudging him forward as though pushing him to ask for the confirmation they needed that the situation was, in fact, just what they suspected.

Jillas, understanding his friend's hint, coughed meekly and said in a small and unsure voice, "L- Lord Valgaav?"

With a bored, nonplused and slightly annoyed tone in his voice, Val replied, "What is it, Jillas?"

At this, Gravos and Jillas grinned.

"But how-!" Gravos started.

Val gave an irked groan and rolled his eyes. "How do you think? Gaav."

"W- wel- whot?"

With yet another roll of his eyes, Val leaned onto the counter and explained the events that had conspired that night up to that moment.

_At the sight of the blood running over Val's neck and onto his shoulder and the pillow below, as well as the marks on Val's arms, ear, shoulder, and hips where teeth and nails had been applied on his part, Gaav frowned and turned pale instantly. 'What the hell did I do to him!' Voicing his concern, the Chaos Dragon asked, worry lacing his voice lightly as he spoke up, "Val, I'm sorry; I didn't mean- I didn't wanna hurt- damnit, Val, I'm so-" _

_Leaning up, Val presed their lips together in a tender and passionate kiss, smiling sincerely. "Valgaav, Lord Gaav." he whispered softly. "I wanted the pain; you gave me what I wanted. Nobody ever did that without feeling like they were helping some random charity case by doing it." _

_This remark floored Gaav. 'Nobody? A charity case?' he thought, staring down at Val. _

_Smirking up at the confusion on Gaav's face, Val kissed the man's lips again and stated, "I wanted to feel the pain that came with it. I'm your servant forever, Lord Gaav, and masters don't stop to worry about hurting their servants if they want something." _

_As though on cue, Val's words registered through Gaav's mind. "...Valgaav?" _

_"Give me an order, my Lord; I'll do anything you tell me." _

_Eyes wide, Gaav pulled Val up into a deep, long, ecstatic kiss. "How the hell did you remember you're you? I've been trying for several days; I even went as far as getting that fox to help me." _

_"I don't know how to explain what happened. I know what we were, though; I know what happened that I met you, I remember hearing of your death and wanting revenge against Lina Inverse for leading Hellmaster Phibrizzo to you and taking away my chance at getting revenge on him for your death..." _

_"That's where everything went wrong for you. You got trapped in that damn prophecy. That damn thing told them how to kill you and beat Dark Star." _

_"Yes...I remember the point where I lost. It felt so good to get to rest for once..." _

_For a moment, the ghost of a guilty conscience crept into Gaav's mind. Valgaav had wanted to die after all; it hadn't just been his imagination. By dying, Valgaav had been granted a chance to forget the bad things in his past and would be able to be reborn with no memory of what happened to torment him and haunt all his dreams. Looking down into Val's face now, there was an expression of regret barely visible there. It looked as though Val wasn't even aware he even wore it. Regret over being brought back through the surface of the other memories he'd grown up with perhaps? _

_"Lord Gaav, I know where I went wrong those years back; I stille owe you for my second chance at revenge because you spared me..." _

_"You don't want revenge do you? After growing up with new memories?" _

_"Order it and I'll do it. My servitude towards you is above anything else." _

_"Not in this life. You're more important to me than my life is now. I'm not ordering you around anymore." _

_"My Lord, you were trying to overthrow the Monster race last time; is that still what you want?" _

_"Not as much as you are. Since I found out I loved you, hell—since I realized I was even capable of loving somebody, you were my first priority. Why else would Xelloss be at the top of my list of beings to kill? If anything happened to me they'd send him after you. And apparently they did exactly that. Whenever you had trouble with your transformations I usually had other things to do, but I dropped them all to get to you as fast as I could." _

_"Lord Gaav, I want to get back at Lina Inverse for what she did to both of us. I want to help you get whatever you decide you want." _

_"Then we'll have to be quieter about things, Valgaav." Gaav replied, kissing Val gently. "To get anything done without them figuring out what's happening, we'll have to keep up what we were doing already. You keep acting like a goody-two-wings; be careful, though. It took me forever to find you so I don't like the idea of losing you again." _

_"Of course, Lord Gaav."_

As soon as he had finished with the explanation, Val chuckled at the expressions on his two followers' faces. Oh, dear; had he just 'accidentally' told them more than they'd wanted to know?

After a few moments of silence as the story sank into the two's minds, Jillas and Gravos grinned once more. Flinging themselves forward, they simultaneously latched onto Val's waist tightly in an uncharacteristical hug. "Welcome back Lord Valgaav!" they chimed together.

"Yes, yes, now get off of me." growled the Ancient, though he made no move to remove them.

Stepping back quickly, the troll yanked Jillas back with him as he asked, "What're ya gonna do first?"

"Not tell that Golden wench for starters." Val murmured, looking out the shop window at Filia as she approached from across the street. He forced a smile to her as she waved then turned his head back towards Gravos and Jillas. "Neither will you two. She'll go off and run her big mouth to the former Lina Inverse and her friends and that's the last thing Lord Gaav and I want happening just yet."

Bowing quickly, Jillas and Gravos nodded in understanding. "Understood, Lord Valgaav!" they stated happily. Having just been given an order by the one responsible for saving their lives in the past, they weren't about to let him down if they could help it. As soon as they had straightened back up, Filia burst through the room with her arms full of antiques.

Once they had all been safely set down upon the counter anywhere a space was available, Filia turned back around to face the three other occupants of the shop.

Reaching one hand over, Gravos snagged Jillas' as he gave a mental groan in annoyance. "Welcome back boss." he said.

"Thank you." replied Filia, eyes drifting over the heads of the two towards the aqua-haired dragon. Memories of what she overheard during last night's events played through her mind and she turned away to hide a dark pink blush that was creeping its way over her face. "Val?" she asked, forcing her voice to remain calm.

When Val failed to answer to his name, Jillas looked back and gently tapped him on the arm, bringing his attention to Filia.

Realizing the blonde had been referring to him, Val asked, "Yes?"

"If you ever need to tell me anything," the ex-priestess started, "You never have to worry about being ridiculed, or, well-"

"I know."

"Good, I just wanted to make sure..."

As soon as the words were completed, the Golden Dragon rushed back out of the shop.

Looking down at Jillas and Gravos, Val arched a brow. "When did the two of you get so friendly with one another?" he inquired, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

"'S a long story, Lord Valgaav." Jillas muttered.

"That crazy ex-priestess thinks we're together. We don't wanna get in trouble er spill your secret about you and Gaav so we gotta act along with what she thinks."

Turning towards the door and opening it, Val chuckled to himself. After a moment, he called back softly, "Well then I'll leave the happy couple alone. Tell Filia when she returns that I'll be out the rest of the night. If she asks where, make something up; I don't want her to interfere with my personal time with Lord Gaav."

With this, the door closed behind Val as he made his way out, leaving behind his two stunned followers who simply stared after him, too embarrassed and surprised by his words to do anything.  
**To Be Continued..**  
_Author: Jillas has great eyes apparently. Hey he is a fox, right? And animals are said to be able to sense a lot of crap before humans (or trolls in this case) could, so why not? Ah yes I pick on the poor guy.  
Jillas: Yea'! A little too much!  
Author: Meh, it just means I like your character.  
Jillas: Oi, I don't wann'e know whot would 'appen if ye didn't like me!  
Author: Actually...If I didn't like you? Your life would be much easier. You'd be the one pestering everyone.  
Jillas: WHOT?_


	19. Who the Hell Am I?

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Thank God I can write for Valgaav now! I can make him_ so _much more in-character than I could as Val. Who doesn't love someone arguing with themself? The bit in italics for during the story is Val's dream. To make life easier for me, I'll be referring to Valgaav being a Dragon-Mazoku mix as "Drazoku." I like to think that if it hadn't been for Valgaav's memories being buried inside his mind, Val would've been a hell of a lot gentler and...Well...Gayer. If that's imaginable? o.O And, yes, Gaav is out of kinda out of character near the end._  
**Chapter Nineteen: Who the Hell Am I?**

"How the hell did you manage it?"

"Was it good?"

"Did he scream a lot?"

_SMASH._

"You kidding? He's Valgaav, of course he did!"

_CRASH._

Gaav glared at the roomful of a few of his servants, cracking his knuckles loudly. "For one, he's asleep just one room over from here so shut up or you'll wake him up. For two, the next one of you to talk about him in a way other than respectfully I'll kill to death. Thirdly, I said twice already I'm not going to give you any details about our personal intimate affairs." he growled.

A scrawny, violet-haired Monster with green skin asked meekly, "How can you kill someone to death? Doesn't killing them already ensure they're going to-"

_BASH._

"Fifthly, nobody's going to correct me when I talk. Are we all understood?"

The group nodded.

"Good. Then I'll get down to the reason I summoned all of you here." Gaav began. "As you obviously all well know, I managed to track down, and return to my side, Valgaav. Now that he's back again I'm not going to risk letting anything change that again. To fix some pending threats about that I'm ordering you to all do a couple of things. Firstly, you're not to be noticed by anybody besides Valgaav, myself, and each other. Not even Jillas and Gravos, understood?"

The Monsters all nodded.

"Second, keep an eye on him whenever I'm not around to make sure he doesn't accidentally blow his cover. That Golden Dragon thinks he still doesn't remember who he is and we want it to stay that way. If she finds out the truth, you can say goodbye to your lives."

With a gulp, the Monsters present nodded again.

"Thirdly and finally, keep him out of harm's way as much as possible whenever I'm not with him. There are two siblings in this town that might cause him trouble but other than that we shouldn't have a problem. If something comes up other than those two prats, though, inform me imediately about the situation."

Everyone nodded yet again.

"Good. Now that it's all clear, go waste some more of your lives until Valgaav leaves tomorrow."

"What about tonight?" asked the Monster from moments before.

"You-"

A dark-haired Monster smirked and said, "You kidding? He's gonna be here with the snob tonight to take real good care of 'im if ya know what I mean."

Not a moment later, as the Monster vanished into dust, Gaav grinned as he wrang his hands clean of blood and stated, "Well! One more thing: Never interupt me."

At this, the room's occupants phazed away, leaving the Chaos Dragon alone to quietly creep back into the room he was now sharing with Val.

_Valgaav glanced around the darkness that was all around him. He wasn't scared; that was an emotion he had been unfamiliar with for quite a while. No, it wasn't fear making him inspect his surroundings—it was wariness that something or someone might attack from anywhere and knowing that, if they did, he may not be able to dodge their attack. _

_After a few moments of looking around, a voice met the Drazoku's ears, causing him to spin about to face the direction from which said voice originated. _

_"You really should give up the urge to get revenge for something that happened centuries ago." said the voice sadly with a sigh. "You could relax a lot more and live much longer that way." _

_Valgaav snorted, placing one hand upon his hip as he gave a faint smirk at the form of Val that appeared before his amber eyes. "Well, well, if it isn't my considerably weaker self." he chuckled coldly. _

_Val frowned at this and gave an audible sigh, sitting down and fiddling with the collar on a large stuffed rabbit plushie that Filia had given them when he was small. "I'm weaker and I'm the full-blooded Ancient Dragon..." laughed the teen softly, resting his chin on the bunny's head between its ears. _

_"Yes, weaker. Lord Gaav's power made me stronger than ever when he brought me to work for him. Therefore I have far more power than you could imagine." _

_"I can imagine it." the smaller of the two contradicted after a pause. "I'm you, after all." _

_Valgaav glared down at the fullblooded Dragon, growling. Who was he to be so disrespectful to someone of his power with his background? "I happen to think otherwise." _

_"I look like you, I sound like a softer version of you, and I can get just as huffy as you. I'm you and you're me. You remember telling me that once don't you? That we're one in the same? That the reason I felt such a strong attraction to Gaav was because you had one?" _

_Valgaav was silent for once, not answering the smaller of them. _

_When he realized he wasn't going to get an answer, Val shrugged quietly and his frown deepened somewhat, though he seemed to be unaware that it had done so. "I suppose I'm going to be just a back voice from now on, aren't I? You won't have any need to keep my memories around once you and Gaav have gotten away with whatever the two of you have planned for mother." _

_The more Val spoke, the tighter Valgaav clenched his fists. He wanted to attack the softer-spoken Dragon but somehow had the nagging thought that, if he did, it would be no different from attacking himself. _

_Val continued, "It's too bad, though, I suppose. I really had started to enjoy being alive how I was meant to be. I mean, I liked the shop and my room. I liked mother, Jillas, and Gravos being overly protective of me...Even if it was just because, deep inside, I was you and they knew it. You're who their loyalties are sworn to; not me, after all..." _

_"Of course they are; you did nothing for either of them. I saved them and offered them a chance at revenge against those who had wronged them in the past." _

_"You saw something of you in them, right? With their whole mortally wounded yet still so ready to fight attitude it would be hard not to feel a little empathy to their situation for you..." _

_"How the hell do you know all of that? Even if we are one in the same, your memories are separate from mine and mine from yours." _

_"I'm still you, though, and you're still me. Our memories are different, yes; they may not be interwoven like most people's, but just the same we have them. They're in the same mind, locked away in different filing centers if you will. Just because they're separated doesn't mean yours can't be read by me or that mine can't be read by you." _

_Valgaav seemed to be struck silent by this for a moment. _

_"Our memory is quite the train wreck isn't it? We can't even remember who we both are at the same time..."_

Val bolted upright in the bed, eyes cold and brows furrowed, beads of sweat trickling down his body as he shouted out into the darkness of the room, "_WHO THE HELL AM I_!"

The teen jumped a bit, taken by surprise when Gaav's arms wound their way around is waist and pulled him to the side against his chest.

"You're mine, Valgaav. That's who you are." the redhead whispered softly into his lover's ear, rubbing small, comforting circles on the small of Val's back. "You're someone who's had more bad luck than anyone else I've ever met, who deserves his chancce to right the wrongs done to him in the past. You're an Ancient Dragon with more invisible scars than there ever were covering your body in the past, and you're the most important thing to me that I have. That's who you are. If you ever have questions about that I'll answer them at the drop of a hat, just you tell me."

Val closed his eyes in silence, allowing his slightly upset and anger-driven harsh breathing slack off to a regular pattern once more. As soon as his breathing calmed to normal, Gaav tilted Val's chin up and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips before laying back and pulling the aqua-haired teen onto his arm.

With the ghost of a true smile flickering over his lips, Val scooted closer to his taller partner and rested his head upon his chest. "Forgive me if I woke you, Lord Gaav." he mumbled quietly.

Gaav let out a chuckle that rumbled in his chest to Val's ear, sighing, "I was awake when you bolted up so there's nothing to apologize about. If you want to know the truth I was enjoying watching you sleep. At least, I was until you started looking pissed off. I was about to wake you up when you started mumbling about memories and trains."

Val said nothing but instead growled at himself for unconsciously allowing what he had been dreaming of to slip past.

"Relax, Val. I'm here and I plan on keeping anything that might make you suffer at bay."

As the understanding of the meaning and truth behind the words spoken to him sank in, Valgaav gave a very faint smile, one which went unnoticed by the blue-eyed man. "Thank you." he stated quietly.

Minutes of silence passed between the two and, not long after, they had slowly drifted to sleep together.  
**To Be Continued..**  
_Kara (i.e. KaraRapist113) wrote up a Slayers fanfic for Gaav with an -extremely- unconventional pairing using her fair share of a creative license to the timeline of how Slayers things went. Lemme know if you wanna read it because she's having a bit of trouble with her confidenvce in her writing lately because of what some creeps have been telling her. It'd help if people helped me reinforce her confidence again._


	20. Once a Sneak, Always a Sneak

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav?! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I?!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Yeah. It's kind of a filler. But at least it shows I've still been working on the story, right? There've been a lot of things going on that've made it hard to update--my school's tests, for one, and relationship-related issues, for two. Not only that but, between you and me, I've been severely dreading the fight scenes that're coming up later on in the story because I'm bad at describing them when the characters being used aren't the ones I invented. Anyway, here's chapter twenty, and I hope it's at least a bit enjoyable and not too redundant. I have to go back and read over the last few chapters I sent in, but I couldn't before typing this up because I was away from any possible access to a computer when I wrote it. I really do appreciate your patience. I do know, however, how to end this story now!_  
**Chapter Twenty: Once a Sneak, Always a Sneak**  
"How much longer until we finally get there?" Lina whined, stretching. 

"I don't know." responded Zelgadiss, sighing. How many more times would the redhead ask that?

"How much longer now?"

"I don't know, Miss Lina." Amelia said wearily, forcing a strained smile.

"Okay, well, how about now?"

Gourry blinked, looking towards his wife and replied, "How about now, what?"

"You're no use, Gourry--how long?"

Xelloss paused for a moment before continuing as he said, "Oh, at this rate? Not much longer."

Lina's eyes lit up as she grinned, leaping forward. "How much longer, Xelloss?"

"Oh, about three days."

At this, Lina stared at the trickster priest, a twitch forming at her eye. "What the hell? You haven't changed much, I see! Come on, we're on a press for time here!"

The priest turned his head slightly to glance back at the sorceress, allowing one eye to crack open. As he spoke, his face remained expressionless and voice cheerless, saying, "If, indeed, we _are_ too late, Lina, you may have wished we had taken longer when we get there."

The group paused in their steps as Xelloss continued on for a few more paces as if unaware they had stopped. After a few seconds, the Mazoku stopped as well and turned towards everyone. With a brow lifted, he asked, "Do you remember, perhaps, Gaav's strength alone?" At the grim nod in response, he continued, "And Valgaav, with his own strength as a mixed blood? He is, at the moment, a full-blooded Ancient--the last of his kind. At least, we can only hope he's still that way. But, if he does happen to have changed him back, then just think for a moment on the idea of both he and his master coming after everyone. Does that prospect sound inviting?"

"No, of course not." replied Lina in a serious tone of voice. Her arms crossed over her chest, brows knitting. "I don't even really want to fight just one of them, let alone both. I mean, think of it: Val is one thing, but Valgaav is a whole different story. Especially if Gaav's there with him. Filia would never forgive any of us if we had to hurt Valgaav if he's still in the form of Val, and maybe not even if he _did_ look like the guy we first met all those years ago; she's kind of self-righteous like that. 'Oh, don't go hurting my baby! Be careful with my baby! Don't you remember how hard it was on him before? How can you be so hard on him when he has every right to be so hurt at us for everything?' And all that jazz."

The group went on its way again at this. "It is, really, not completely surprising this came up." put in Zelgadiss thoughtfully.

Amelia glanced up at the stoney man beside her, blinking. "What?"

"Well, Amelia, think about it. Filia promised to take Valgaav in when he was reborn as an egg and raise him properly. She feels guilty for what her people did to his, so she feels obligated to make that up to him. It makes sense, then, that she'd be unconsciously sending signals to him that she's doing it at least partly out of the feeling of guilt. Unknowingly, she's probably been sending signals to him from the beginning that she's trying to make something up to him, even if he doesn't really know what that is. It would give him reason to wonder what she knows that he doesn't, and to question her on those reasons--reasons better left forgotten."

"Better forgotten, that is," Xelloss piped up, tone somber again, "For us, if we indeed are given no other choice than to ultimately kill him again."

"I hadn't thought about it that way." Gourry mumbled, sounding a little perplexed.

"We're not gonna kill him, Xelloss. We're just gonna make sure Gaav hasn't gotten there. When we prove the reasons you're giving us for whatever sneaky purpose you have going there are unfounded, we're going to get him and Filia, take them somewhere safe, and then take care of this whole Demon Dragon King situation just like last time."

"Oh, do remember Lina Gabriev..." Xelloss trailed off for a moment or so, facing straight ahead though his eyes remained closed as per usual. At length, he finished with a glance thrown over his shoulder at the sorceress, saying, "That last time, it was not you who defeated him. It was Hellmaster Phibrizzo."

"You sound really happy about that." The princess stated nervously, frowning wider.

"And remember, you were in league with that guy from the start." Lina put in.

"Of course; Gaav was trying to destroy the Monster race. He was an enemy to the Lord Beastmaster's eventual plans, and since he was also a threat to the human race with his love of war and chaos, it was natural that your kind would also find him a neusance. So, we simply enlisted your aid to take care of the remaining scattered garbage from the last big fight."

"We aren't your personal garbage collectors, Xelloss!" growled Zelgadiss, fists clenching tightly. "And we're not here for your amusement, either!"

"I'm very aware of that, my dear Zelgadiss. It is simply convenient that you do pick up after us occasionally, and that you are quite often rather amusing to me. A three-for-one deal, if you will."

"You-"

"Relax, Zel. We still have to have him and Edna to get us there. If something pops up and it's bad, we can count on Xelloss to leave. Then we'll know exactly how bad whatever we're facing is." Lina smirked as she spoke, hands raising to rest on her hips as she walked. "Isn't that right? You usually do, after all."

"Oh, dear; is it just me, or did the temperature suddenly drop?"

"I can't keep walking any further!" cried Edna in exhaustion suddenly. "Please, go on without me--just avenge my grandbaby!"

Looking down to the old woman, Gourry grinned as an idea entered his head. He plucked her from the ground with ease, setting her gently ontop of Zelgadiss' shoulders.

After a few moments of silence, during which she tried to find a comfortable position in which to sit and Zel stared at the horizon in aggravation with his luck, Edna proclaimed, "This is too hard."

Leaving Zel with a twitching eye, Gourry placed her upon Amelia's shoulders next. At this, the woman almost instantly stated, "This is too soft."

The princess blinked, and Gourry placed her on Lina's shoulders. The sorceress gave a nervous smile. "What is this--Sherlilocks and the Three Mazoku?" she muttered, ignoring Xelloss' indignant 'hmph.'

"Oh, I couldn't possibly let mysef be a burden to this poor little child!" Edna exclaimed.

Xelloss gave a splutter of a snort as sudden laughter tried to burst forth at this, shoulders shaking from the silent cackles. Her eye twitching madly, Lina turned to death glare Amelia, Zelgadiss, and Edna, who were glancing in any direction but hers. Gourry nodded at Edna's statement, saying, "And she could pass for a little girl, since her-"

"Gourry, I dare you to finish that sentence." threatened the redhead. Though this silenced the swordsman, it only served to spur on another round of aughter for the Mazoku priest, who was already near what would, for any human, have been tears. Seeing this, Lina growled and plucked Edna up, setting her instead onto Xelloss' shoulders.

Edna instantly settled down there, grinning happily as she stated, "Oh, now that's just right."

Xelloss immediately stopped his laughter, instead adopting a nervous frown as the old woman grinned from ear to ear, hands resting on the priest's collar bone.

As a green shade made an appearance on Xelloss' face, Zel gave a smug smirk. "Don't like being the butt of Ms. Edna's joke, Xelloss?" he asked mockingly.

"Ah, I think I should be on my way now, don't you?" Xelloss said with a smile, a brow knitted in annoyance at the chimera's words. "Lord Beastmaster will be expecting to hear back from me soon on how things are progressing."

With this said, Xelloss made his swiftly-phazed exit, leaving Gourry to catch Edna and place her on his own shoulders before she fell to the ground.

"Coward." Lina mumbled, shrugging as she continued walking.

"Ah, yes, by the way!" Xelloss' voice chimed from behind Zelgadiss, causing the stoney man to jump in surprise and glare at him, "I've a message for someone in this group, and if you would be so kind as to deliver it to its owner, I'd be indebted to you."

Zel gave him a suspicious look as he took the letter extended to him. "I don't trust you, Xelloss." he stated pointedly.

"What a pity. Well, open it."

As Zel did so, the others leaned over the letter to read what it said."

_"Litte girl, little breasts;  
scared the spiders from their nests.(1)  
Ooooh ho ho ho ho ho:P  
xoxo, Naga & Xelloss"_

Edna, Gourry, Amilia, and Zel's eyes slowly turned to Lina as the chimera placed the letter in her hands. "To its owner." they chorused.

Amelia blinked as she noticed a sparkle from the other side of the letter, taking it curiously as Lina thrust it at her angrily.

"FIREBALL!" shouted the enraged sorceress, as good as throwing it at Xelloss.

The plum-haired Mazoku quickly pulled Zel up to him, smiling as ever as the spell made contact with his chosen shield.

After the dust cleared, Xelloss placed the unfortunate soul back where he had been before, smiling smugly at him. Before the chimera had time to say anything, the trickster priest tilted his chin up with one finger, his head leaning down close to the lilac-haired man's and his tongue flicking out and over one cheek.

Zel bristled at the quite unwelcomed contact, a deep red flush of embarrassment and anger filling his cheeks quickly.

Xelloss smirked, tapping his index finger on Zel's nose as he chuckled out in a quiet voice, "Angry chimera a flambe; delicious."

Lina's rage continued to build as Xelloss floated off, not returning this time, though she continued to mutter a few explicatives for quite a few moments after. At ength, the woman sighed. "Well, at least he owes us now. Right?" she asked rhetorically.

"Uhhm, Misses Lina?" came Amelia's nervous voice.

"Yeah, Amelia?"

The aforementioned princess placed the letter back into Lina's hands, reversed-side first. Taped to it were five gold coins, one of their names beneath a coin each. At the bottom of this, in Xelloss' handwriting, were the words,

_Debt paid.  
Xelloss_

**To Be Continued..**

(1) _I, ah, changed that one bit because I wanted to torment one of my friends. XD XD That was for Dejah. _


	21. Filia, Goddess of Luck

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav?! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I?!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Another chapter for the story. I'm so glad inspiration came back to me and that some issues have been settled. Granted, more popped up...Ah, nevermind that. At least the story's being updated again...After what, how long? The last chapter was a bit of a filler--just our way of proving we_ are _still working on the story. This one, however, is more to the plot line. I was debating if we should call it what it is now or "Bad Omen!" (an idea bummed from Kyo Kara Maou) and, as you can see, we stuck with this. Maybe we'll use the other one later on. By the by...I'm really starting to get used to this awkward (but pretty fairly canon, believe it or not) Gravillas thing._  
**Chapter Twenty-One: Filia, Goddess of Luck**  
Odd things had been happening all day in the Ul Copt household and antique shop, and FIlia was a bit wary that perhaps they were omens from above. For some reason, every time she turned around, Jillas or Gravos would have a new injury. While she wanted to hint to the two that it was possibly because of their chosen lifestyle with one another, she knew that wouldn't be the just thing to do and decided to just let the matter drop.

...And speaking of dropping, a loud crash made itself known behind the Golden Dragon. It was closely folowed by a pained groan from the one-eyed fox.

With a sigh, the blonde woman turned to face the poor creature and knealt by his side. She took his twitching arm and hoisted him gently to his feet. "Are you okay, Jillas?" she inquired, brow knitted in concern.

"Yeah; thanks, boss." replied the gunman. "Jus' sore."

Filia cleared her throat, looking away from her little friend as a dark red flush covered her face. "I- I'm sorry to hear that."

Inwardly smacking his forehead, Jillas muttered to himself at the way he knew the ex-priestess had taken his words. Judging by the dark blush she was sporting, she had not only misunderstood him, but she had also unintentionally conjured up an image of it. At length, he sighed, "I think oi'm gonna go check on Lo- ah,- the li'l boss." He held his breath in the hopes that the near-miss had gone unnoticed.

Luckily for him, Filia seemed to have not heard the fox's mistake, instead smiling and nodding her head. "Alright, then. Be careful, though, okay?"

Jillas nodded and made his way out, staring back at her as he exited. A few minutes later, he made his way into the Ancient's room, glancing around in hopes of finding the teen. "Lord Valgaav?" questioned the fox nervously.

With no warning, a pair of angry amber eyes locked evenly with his own at an even level with him. Surprised, Jillas let out a yelp as he jumped back a step or two.

"What is your reasoning in protecting that woman?!" Val growled out, eyes flashing dangerously. It was easy to see he was maybe just a little bit unhappy with his follower at the moment. "She is the only thing in my way of the completion of my revenge--she, and that pitiful, smug excuse for a dragon at the inn where Lord Gaav is!"

It had really been too long since the fox had heard words with such venom and hatred in them come from the person before him, Jillas realized, if he could be so shaken by them so easily. "Well," he began, clearly nervous. "W- whot- she's been-" Gods above, this was unnerving; it's not easy to tell someone your loyalties are halved between them and someone they so obviously despise so fully! And, just as he was about to make the effort to discreetly explain this, a thought occurred to him. Why not use this for his own advantage?

Seeing that Val was growing impatient for an answer, Jillas took a deep breath and said, "Lord Gaav 'n you don't want anyone to find out ye remembered your past yet, right Lord Valgaav? Last thing whot you want is someone getting suspicious of you if she dies."

Val let out another low growl, thrusting out his arm and letting his fist connect with the room's wall. As a small trickle of blood began to stream down his knuckles and onto the floor, he glared down at it. "That cursed woman caused all of this.." he hissed, eyes closing as he drew his arm away from Jillas, who had taken it and began dabbing off some of the blood on his cloak.

"Whot?"

"Lina Inverse--she lead Phibrizzo right to Lord Gaav and lead to this! If it hadn't been for her, my revenge would have been carried out and Lord Gaav and I would-"

"Actually, Lord Valgaav, it's Lina Gabriev now. She got married, she did!"

Eyebrow arched in disinterest, Val looked down at his servant companion. "Did she?" he inquired, seeming nonplused.

"Yea', but whot I was saying- ye can't kill her, Lord Valgaav; someone would be bound te find out you killed her and call in that pesky sorceress after you!"

"Where's the flaw?"

Jillas mentally sighed at this. It was easier to get away with talking to the amber-eyed dragon without being quite as formal as before because of the many years they'd spent together through the end of Valgaav's and all of Val's lives, but it was still hard to get through his personal opinions once his mind was made up about something to get him to see reason. Unless...

"Ye said Lord Gaav wanted'e keep a low profile for a while to spend time with you first, di'n'e?" Jillas asked solemnly.

With a sigh, Val shook his head slowly. A scowl played at his lips and his brows furrowed in annoyance. There were times he hated the fox, and undoubtedy, this was one of those times.

"Now before she comes up and wonders whot's going on, we've gotte get your 'and fixed up."

"I hate this child's body." murmured the sea-green-haired youth. "It is my original body, yes, but for all the desire I had in wishing the damned Golds hadn't lead to my requiring an.."Improvement,"..Upon it to survive, it had never crossed my thoughts that having it back would mean I would need to build it back to its previous level of strength." he continued with a frustrated, sarcastic chuckle. "That woman was trying to raise me to _be_ a woman."

Jillas couldn't contain the small snicker at these words. It was as good as true, after all; Filia hadn't intended to raise Val like a daughter, but the poor thing hadn't had the slightest clue how to raise a boy from scratch. Hell--it had taken he and Gravos three months to convince her to let them paint over the pink room she'd prepared for Val with blue paint before Val learned to transform into, and maintain, his human form after he had hatched. If it hadn't been for them being there to help raise the little reborn Ancient, there was little doubt she probably would have raised him just like a young woman.

"It's laughable how I'm in a body which weighs so little for my kind that Lord Gaav can easily lift me."

"Eh, Lord Valgaav, 'e could do that before, too."

Val sat down at the table as Jillas instructed upon entering the kitchen, allowing the fox to place a bandage around his injury. In his personal opinion, the wall had suffered far worse than his arm, but the explosives expert assured him that both Val _and_ the wall were in better shape than he would be if Filia found out the teen had gotten hurt and wasn't treated for it, however small the injury was.

The tiny urge to smile at the jest slowly crept over the teen, undoubtedly from the side of his memories which had decided to proclaim itself his official "conscience," and although it was one he easily avoided giving into, it still irritated hi just the same.

"'Ey, Jillas!" came Gravos' voice from a couple of rooms over. From the sound of it, he was headed for the room they were in.

"In 'ere, boss!" the fox called in reply.

"The boss was wonderin' what's takin' so- 'ey! What 'appened'a Lord Valgaav's hand?"

"It isn't important." Val stated firmly, standing to his feet. "I'm leaving, and it would be wise to tell that Golden _child_ not to expect me."

Jillas and Gravos withstood the desire to snicker at the implications this brought up, all of which were most likely pretty close to the bullseye.

"Goin' off to see Lord Gaav?" inquired the troll, though he already knew the answer.

"What I do in my time is none of your concern."

The two ganced away, knowing this to be a yes.

"I'll just leave you two love birds alone, then." Val growled in rising anger at their smugness. By the Gods, he had been out of his senses for too long if they had grown to think they could get away with overstepping their place. At least that little remark seemed to remind them of that fact. Well, for the moment, at least.

As the smirking Ancient exited, he inwardly chuckled at the surprised and embarrassed splutter his two followers made behind him.

Once their charge had left, Gravos glanced down at the inventive fox beside him. _Love birds? Me 'n Jillas?_ he mused, snickering. _Yea'. 'N I'm a troll-man._ He paled at this, frowning. _'Ey, wait a minute! I __**am**__! So's that mean-?_

He glanced down at the smaller creature once more, blinking. When his companion looked up at him in curiosity of if something was wrong, Gravos shook his head rapidly. _Nah, no way..Is there?_

**To Be Continued..**


	22. Dreamcasting: A Little Too Real

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav?! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I?!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_We felt as if Amelia got cheated in other chapters and stories, so we're showing how she's matured over these past seventeen years. By the way, we added in a bit of the "Otome no Inori" song from NEXT, but we're not positive we got the spelling right. Be gentle! This chapter's not the best thing in the world, and it's probably a bit out-of-character as well as scattered, but I blame that on the fact that it was written up when I was listening to Illegal Danish - MC Raiders. It's a good song, mind you, but not the best thing in the world to listen to if you want to write something dramatic. Ha haaa..."We're MC Raiders. We, ain't, got, no li-hiiiife..." Ha ha haaa.."Okay, who was the living bomb?" 'I didn't know.' "Well congratulations, you win the dumbass award!" 'This is my first time!' "You're not L33T enough for Molten Core!"..."I am -not- wasting DKP on that piece of crap!" '...Oooohkay..' Anyway, yeah...I hope this isn't too crappy, and it's not really -that- far away from the plot. It still hints towards what they dread, and yeah._  
**Chapter Twenty-Two: Dreamcasting: A Little Too Real**  
It had been a remarkably long day, and everyone in Lina Gabriev's group was exhausted. Edna had fallen asleep ontop of Gourry's shoulders a while ago, and showed no signs of waking up anytime soon. Both Amelia and Lina had fallen to the ground complaining of their feet aching and being hungry, which left Zelgadiss to carry the two piggy-back style (with much pre-Fireball-induced-cooperation refusal on the chimera swordsman's part). For a while, now, there had been no sign of Xelloss; this was either a blessing or an omen, the shaman decided, but he resolved to enjoy his torment-free time while he had it.

The four couldn't help but wonder if they were really going in the right direction, after all, if Edna had told them they were one day away and then Xelloss told them three. Or, perhaps she had meant it was one day away..By temple-train? Either way, they had the feeling that they had been going in circles for a little while now, having seen what looked suspiciously like the same flower grove at least seven times.

At length, exhaustion began to make its presence known in the two swordsmen as well, and they were forced to call quits to their traveling for the night. Pitching up tents out of some of the larger tree leaves from the low-hanging branches above them, the traveling quintet prepared themselves to rest for a bit before they would have to resume their journey.

"Koi ni koi suru onna no koni wa nagashi sugiru no mai daarin.." Amelia hummed to herself as she settled in, reminescing back on her past journeys with her three friends.

Lina peeked her head inside she, Edna, and Amelia's tent at this, glaring daggers. "Go on--finish that verse, I dare you, Amelia."

The princess smiled nervously but fell silent instantly.

After a few minutes, once everyone had settled into their places, Amelia turned onto her side, facing the other woman. Voice soft and quiet so as not to awaken Edna, she asked, "You don't think we're already too late, do you?"

Lina closed her eyes in thought, sighing aloud. "I don't know, Ameia; I'd like to say no, but if Gaav's as relentless at searching for Val as he was for us last time, then I really can't say for sure."

The younger of the two frowned at this. "I feel kind of anxious about getting there..Misses Lina, what if we are too late? Gaav and Valgaav were really hard on their own without each other--what if they're together? Will we even hae a chance to beat them? What will happen to Miss Filia?"

"If Val remembers everything? She's probably done for. He was stronger than her and all of us last time, but even as just an Ancient Dragon without the Mazoku influence, he'd still be really hard to bring down; his kind were hundreds of times stronger than Filia's. And if he has Gaav there to help.."

"Rest in peace, Miss Filia.."

"Pieces, more like it."

"Misses Lina, that's horrible!" Amelia gasped. "I don't feel so good anymore..I'm getting scared now."

"I hate to say it," yawned Lina, "but it's kind of worrying me a little bit as well."

"Misses Lina, what's going to happen to Mr. Val's two friends?"

"Jillas and Gravos? It depends--there's several different outcomes. If we get there before Gaav, they might be safe; they were Valgaav's flunkies, so they might get killed if they try to defend Filia. Then again, they could chicken out and go back with Val and Gaav again. If that were the case, we'd be enemies again. It's a pretty annoying circle, huh?"

"You really think they might?"

"They were, after all, Valgaav's servants. Filia may have given them a second chance, but I'm afraid their primary loyalties might still be with him overall."

Amelia remained silent for a moment, thinking over the situation and what Lina had said thus far. Would Val really be able to hurt Filia after she had willingly invested seventeen years of her own life to raise him after his defeat? He seemed like such a nice young dragon, judging by what Filia had told them about him over the past years. _Then again,_ she reasoned grimly, _Valgaav was probably a really sweet person to begin with, too, until fate dealth him such a cruel blow._

"You look like Zel when you go that deep into thought." Lina stated with a small smile. "What's on your mind now?"

"Oh, I..I was just thinking, that's all.." replied the princess sadly. "Don't you think it's kind of sad, Misses Lina?"

"What is?"

"Their lives--all four of them: Valgaav, Miss Filia, and his two friends."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I mean, think about it: Filia's kind killed all of Valgaav's except for him, and they hid that secret from her--one of their own kind! And, it must have really hurt Valgaav to know he was the only one left--no family, friends, or anything; and he just didn't seem like he could ever get over that fact..When you think about it, Gaav was probably the only one who ever showed him any kind of concern since then, even if it was just to serve his own purposes. So when the person who helped him died, he probably felt afraid that he might have been about to go through the motions of losing everything again. Then with Mister Jillas and Mister Gravos, they were with him through the end, and now Gaav is back and trying to bring up all those painful memories in Val again just so he can have his servant back..And that's going to be so hard on them, because they were so loyal to Valgaav, but they seem happy with Miss Filia, too, and..And then poor Miss Filia herself..Misses Lina, Val is like her son after all this time--what would she do if we had to kill him again if we're too late? She'd probably see it as her failing to keep her promise to Valgaav--like she-.."

A few stray tears had begun to form in the corners of the young woman's eyes, and Lina reached her hand out to her, gently wiping them off on her glove. She gave a smile, saying, "You've really matured, Amelia."

"I- I have? Why do you s- say that?"

"Just listen to yourself--a few years ago, you would've called Valgaav, Jillas, and Gravos all villains. Now, you're actually thinking about their reasons behind it."

"They were villains, Misses Lina! The only difference is that they had reasons for it. Even though it doesn't excuse their actions, they had reasons for being how they were, and they have every right to have judgement reserved about them until you look at all the angles to their stories; it's only fair."

"I can see why Zel likes you now."

"Mister Zelgadiss likes-?"

"We should get some sleep now; we have to get up early if we're going to beat Gaav to the punch."

Amelia nodded, her smile returning now. "You're right."

_"This is all a bad dream!" Gourry cried aloud as he continued to run at top speed, eyes wide, realizing in a moment's embarrassment before it was discarded for fear for his life that he'd forgotten to- rather, had not had time to -put pants on before running to catch up to Lina and Zelgadiss. _

_"Run as fast as you like, but you can't escape me!" shouted the thundering voice, paired with the booming laugh, of Gaav from behind him. Closely mingling with his was a gentler, yet crueler, chuckle coming from Valgaav, the second of the three's persuers. _

_"If I do that, I'll wake up dead!" Gourry shouted back over his shoulder, wishing to the Gods above that of all times, now he truly wished he hadn't given the Sword of Light to Sirius and ignoring Lina's shout towards him about his stupidity as to how it was impossible to wake up dead, and how she had covered that with him once or twice before. _

_"Oh, you'll be dead shortly, anyway." came Valgaav's smooth, cocky voice in Gourry's left ear, causing the blonde to stare at him dumbly before once more speeding up his running pace. _

_As the swordsman finally matched Lina and Zelgadiss' pace, Gaav flickered into view beside Valgaav, the two chuckling once more at the three companions' desperate attempts to escape the pair of chasers. Gaav wound one arm about his servant's hips tightly, matching his lips to Valgaav's before releasing him. Ruby Eye, they got such an adrenaline rush from this sort of thing! _

_Lina grumbled in annoyance, throwing a glance back over her shoulder at Valgaav, who Gaav had allowed to preceed him in the chase and was catching up easily to them. _

_"We won't be able to keep running forever!" Zelgadiss called to the other two, re-sheathing his sword back at his side to run more quickly without the risk of tripping over it. "What do you propose that we do, Lina?" _

_"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows; buried in the stream of time is where thy power glows. In thy great-" _

_However, Lina's spell was cut off as she tripped over the root of a tree they had just passed which jutted out from the earth, leading her to fall forward and land upon Gourry. This caused a seeming chain reaction, as it sent the married couple down the hill on which they were running, tumbling into a heap. Closely following them was Zelgadiss, who began to make his way down much more gracefully. _

_"Lina! Gourry!" Zel called after them. _

_"Don't worry about them." chuckled Valgaav, appearing in front of the chimera. _

_"What do you mean?!" growled the shaman, forming a Rah-Tilt as he spoke. _

_Valgaav, easily repelling this attack, replied in his usual cocky tone of voice, "Lord Gaav is going to deal with them personally in repayment for all those years ago." _

_An echo of Lina and Gourry's screams came over the bottom of the hill as if on cue before Valgaav laughed loudly at Zel's frightened, shocked, and concerned face. _

_"Were I you, I would worry about myself first; though I would much prefer to deal with Lina myself, you will be facing me, and then there will be only two others left to be taken care of: that brat of a princess and the Monster, Xelloss!" _

Simultaneously, Amelia, Zelgadiss, Lina, and Gourry all sprang upright, eyes wide and breathing paniced. They each ran out of the two tents towards the fire they had started in the center of the clearing where they had pitched tent for the night, exchanging glances with one another. Slowly, it began to dawn on the four traveling friends what had each of them so unnerved.

"A dream?" asked Lina, brows furrowed. Everyone nodded.

"About Gaav and Valgaav?" added Zel questioningly. Again, everyone nodded.

"Where they're chasing the three of you?" Amelia put in. Again, nodding.

"And we're in deep trouble." Gourry stated more than inquired, frowning. More nodding.

"It looks as if we all had the same dream." Zel sighed, expression serious.

Amelia blinked, gently tugging at his sleeve. "Mister Zelgadiss, that happens a lot with people who are close, though, doesn't it?"

Zel shook his head. "It isn't very common at all. And, with the dream being as bad as it was about our situation, I don't think we can afford to just completely dismiss it as just a coincidence"

"That's a good idea." came a stranger's voice from behind Gourry, leading everyone to turn to face its owner in a battle-ready stance.

The young girl, who seemed to be possibly no older than fifteen at the most, stood at just a few inches below Lina's shoulders and she wore several bracelets which matched her short, dark blue dress. Really, it seemed more of the sort of thing that Naga might wear. Come to think of it, she did seem to be a lot like her--the colour of her eyes and hair were even the same.

"Who are you?" asked the princess.

"Correction." came another voice behind the first girl. As its plum-black-haired owner peeked her head out from behind the first girl, her amber-lilac eyes closed in a playful wink. "You mean, 'who are you _two_'."

Lina arched a brow. "Okay, who are you two?"

The first girl gave a loud, long laugh as the second moved away from her and edged closer to Zelgadiss.

"Misses Lina..That laugh sounds an awful lot like-" Amelia began nervously.

Lina finished, staring in disbelief down at the girl and her companion as she spoke, "-Naga. And since there's no way she could be Naga herself, I'm betting she's her daughter. Right?"

"That's right." the girl replied. "I'm Kara--Kara the Serpant! Oh," she added as if on an afterthought at the feeling of her friend tugging angrily at her black cloak, "and this is my friend Zeea; I met her a few days ago."

At these words, Lina groaned. "You really are just like Naga."

"And mother was right--you really do have a flat chest."

"Why you-!"

"Easy, Lina; she's just a kid." Zel cautioned the sorceress.

"And my niece!" Amelia added, grinning.

"And right." Zeea said with a chuckle.

"You little-! Hey, wait a minute; you're both younger than me but you're bigger than me?! That's not fair!" shrieked the red-headed woman in disbelief.

"Ohh ho ho ho ho ho!" Kara cackled.

"I always did hate that laugh."

It was Zeea's turn to laugh now as Kara crossed her arms over her chest, giving an indignant 'hmph.'

"What brings you out this way, anyway?" Zel inquired, feeling a bit uncomfortable when the two girls turned their attention towards him.

"Oh, and who's this?" Zeea asked with a slight smirk as she again moved towards him.

"Mister Zelgadiss Greywords." said Amelia in response, feeling just a bit jealous when the girl began circling the stoney shaman like a buzzard.

"This is Amelia," Lina began the proper introductions in saying, pointing to the princess. "Kara's aunt. The guy beside me is my husband, Gourry. And I, of course, am the beautiful and talented-"

"-Spider spooker. (1)" Zeea finished, completely straight-faced.

"I am not!" shrieked the other woman, enraged.

"So?" prodded Amelia, hoping to avert the impending Dragon Slave. She felt herself becoming only more jealous, however, when she realized just how much closer to the lilac-haired man Zeea had went. "Why _are_ you two out here?"

"Word travels fast. " replied Kara simply. "We heard there was a little trouble out this way and that some woman was willing to pay handsomely to have it taken care of. And, rumor has it, there's a really cute guy involved as well. We couldn't resist coming to see who it is and if the rumors were right."

"There _was_ another person with us--some greenish-blackish-haired guy with a sword fetish." Zeea said, waving her hand as if to dismiss the subject as something rather trivial.

"Yeah, a real clutz." Kara agreed, nodding.

"It sounds as if everyone we know is having children except the four of us, because that sounds like Martina and Zangulus combined." Zel commented with a roll of his eyes.

"Well he said his name was Xoanulus. He got lost somewhere between here and the Katahto Mountains where we met him. He was bugging some guy about wanting to spar with him."

"that's their son, all right." Lina sighed, glaring Gourry into submission and silence when she noticed him perk up interestedly at the word 'spar.'

"This is quite a change." Xelloss' voice rang from behind Zel, leading the chimera to jump in surprise and glare at him.

"You again?"

"Why, yes; it's almost ight out, after all, and I think you'd find it much easier to cut the distance between yourselves and your destination if you started actually going there. However, I can't help but notice you seem to have acquired a few companions."

"Yeah, Kara and Zeea." sighed the woman. "We just seem to keep adding more and more people every time we go on an adventure, huh?"

Kara smiled sweetly at Xelloss, arms hooking around his. "I think I could go a lot further if you'd carry me there."

"Just like Martina."

Just as Xelloss was about to protest to Kara's unintentional emotional attack, Zeea took hold of Zel's arm in hers, winking to him as she said with a grin, "And I think I'll have all the energy I'll need if I stay with Zelgadiss."

"I say we get food first." Lina decared.

"Yeah!" chorused Amelia and Gourry in acquiescence.

"Is there time?" Xelloss asked as Gourry went to get Edna so they could go ahead and leave.

"There's always time for food, Xelloss!"

"Yeah, and I'm really hungry! What about you, Zeea?" Kara grinned.

"Oh," responded the younger-looking of the two, straightening a wrinkle in her long violet dress. "I'm suddenly feeling just fine! In fact, I could travel for days on end like this!"

Turning his head in Zelgadiss and Zeea's direction, Xelloss chuckled. "I see you have an admirer, my dear Zelgadiss. Well, I would like to join you on your quest, but I have a few more things to take care of, first. However, I'll gladly join you later."

"Of course you will; you always do." Zel growned, turnin away from the priest.

"Oh, now, Zelgadiss! Don't be that way!" Xelloss mock-pleaded, moving to stand in front of him again. Pacing a single finger upon the chimera's cheek and tapping it there a few times, he continued, "I do have to do my job, and of course I do need sustinance as well, so I'll be back shortly. I would never abandon such a wonderful feast."

With not another word, the Mazoku was gone, leaving the group to themselves again and leaving in his wake a flustered shaman.

**To Be Continued..**  
(1) Ahh, see chapter 20, I think...


	23. Prince Xoanulus the Charming?

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav?! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I?!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_I was warring with my sibling on if Xoanulus would meet Val or track down Kara&Zeea to meet, and hit on, Zel as well as the two ladies. He won..I guess he can serve as a plot devise, eh? We have to work on hooking "someone" up pretty soon or one of our friends is planning to kill us. 6.6; Oh, and by the way, we don't recall Zangulus' last name ever being disclosed, so we just made something up; we took the name from the girl singing with Ricky Martin in "Private Emotion." Sorry, folks; it was the best we could think of! Meanwhile, we actually loosely based Xoanulus on someone that my brother talks to now and then, who he said he's going to start calling either "Miyavi" or "Amiboshi." We might change the last name given if we can ever remember what his friend's last name is and can get permission to use it...The chapter is short, but, it brings in who we need. Also, in re-watching NEXT, Milgasia's telepathic conversation with Lina reminded me that dragons can, indeed, do that sort of thing. I..Chose to use that idea for an excuse in how to get Xoanulus and Gaav together in the next chapters. Forgive us!_  
**Chapter Twenty-Three: Prince Xoanulus the Charming?**  
Gods above, was Xoanulus ever lost. He had been wandering around for the past few days aimlessly, chasing after those two fiesty ladies he'd met back at the Katahto Mountains. The green-blueish-black-haired man had only taken his eyes off of them for a few moments to pester some muscle-bound brute about a practice sword fight and when he'd won, they had already disappeared. Luckily, a shy young plum-haired vixen in a red Chinese dress told him he had seen the two girls leave and told him the direction they had gone. But for all the good that did him! Somehow, he'd missed them and now here he was, wandering the streets of some small town. 

So far, Xoanulus hadn't seen a single person around--a fact which somewhat bothered him.

Then again, he supposed, that could have been attributed to the fact that it was dusk; most people were probably already in for the day!

Suddenly, just when the young swordsman prince was about to give up his search for someone to speak with, his hazel eyes caught sight of a lean figure with shoulder-length hair coming around the corner. He hurried over to the stranger, putting on a kind and practiced charming smile. "Good evening." he said with cheer. "I wonder if perhaps you've seen the two young ladies I'm searching for; one is about fifteen or so and-"

As the other person turned to face him, Xoanulus was taken aback to see piercing amber eyes lock onto his gaze. A closer look revealed a certain wariness of him in the orbs before him, and a gentle breeze picked up their aqua tresses and carried them with it a bit as if following an unheard rhythm in a silent melody.

Xoanulus let out a silent gasp before he shook his head, blinking himself back to reality. "I- I'm very sorry," he offered in calling of the suspicion and distrust the other's eyes held. "I didn't mean to startle you; my name is Prince Xoanulus Meja, of the Xoana kingdom. Who might you be?"

"I see no reason to offer my name to you." Val replied.

_Ohh,_ thought Xoanulus with a mental sly smirk. _This one is just as fiesty as those two lovely ladies from before!_

A few moments of silence followed, and at length the prince stated in a slightly deeper, 'I can be your Superman, baby' voice, "It's only a common courtisy; I gave you mine, after all." With this, he gave an extravigant bow and removed the hat he had gotten from his father from his head. "I only wish to know so I might remember what angel to question Heaven as to why they chose to cast him out."

At this, the Ancient Dragon let out a sudden and rather choppy bark of laughter, the small ghost of an amused smirk playing at his lips. "You say this as if I belonged there, or as if there even _were_ a Heaven above this Hell of an earth; it's laughable. Very well--my name is Valg- ah.." The teen let out a low growl. "..Val."

Xoanulus blinked for a moment at the other teen, who seemed to be about two years his junior. Wow, the growl was hot.. _Such an ill view of himself._ he silently noted, feeling a bit sad for the other boy. _What happened that would case that?..And what's a Valg?_

Sensing the younger boy's growing anxiousness to leave, Xoanulus smiled as an idea made its way into his mind. "Were you going somewhere before I interrupted you?" he inquired.

Val stared hard at him for a few more moments as if debating the other man's intentions before finally answering, "Hnnm..Yes. I was."

"I see! You know, it gets a bit dangerous outside in the dark; you never know what might rear its ugly head out at you when you're alone. If you'd like, I could accompany you."

"Somehow, I think I've seen far worse than anything that might have the chance to happen to me."

Xoanulus was beginning to suspect the worst for this lovely teen's past the more allusions he made towards it. He _was_ lovely for a teenaged male, after all, and he did show the classical symptoms and distrust and alertness of others as one woud expect...

Discarding this dark thought for later, the hazel-eyed teen gave another brilliant smile. "I could serve as your personal body guard. No one would lay a hand on or against you without your approval, and they will be in dire regret of it if they try. Furthermore, for _you_, I would charge absolutely nothing for my services."

Ohh, the poor fool was beginning to think of Val as the womanly man Filia had tried to raise him as, was he? As just a weak, fair-looking young boy with the naivity level of some blushing school girl? Well, this could be amusing if he played the correct cards. And, he was far too young to know who Gaav was--everyone _did_ believe him to be dead, after all. And with a bit of inspection to his knowledge of Monsters, the name didn't register, so..

"Very well." Val replied with a gentle chuckle. "I accept your offer."  
**To Be Continued..**


	24. Y'Think? Xoanulus Plays Matchmaker

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav?! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I?!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_I bought my sister a Slayers d20 book..Thing...And after breezing through it, read Jillas' bio description. As it turns out, he's a_ lot _gentler and more insecure than the anime lets on, so actually he's not_ too _out-of-character with how we're writing him! Meanwhile, all the others are just getting more and more OOC the longer this story drags on. Eh, screw it...Hee hee, it said Valgaav is amost impossible to give stats on...Is it just me or did it bug other people, too, with how easily Gaav went down and how little screen time he and Phibrizzo got? Come on, Rezo effectively had a season to himself (kind of) and so did Valgaav (though he could've had more and I wouldn't have complained whatsoever). Jeeze...Anyway, I typed and edited this one up whie watching the video on for "Private Emotion," and the meaning of the video (in my opinion) is both sad yet sweet...__  
...By the way, if Hellmaster Phibrizzo's dead, who's the new Hellmaster? I mean, are all those souls just kind of wandering around out of control now or something?_  
**Chapter Twenty-Four: Y'think? Xoanulus Plays Matchmaker**  
Gaav stared off at the young prince as he sat back on the bed of his hotel room, the Ancient Dragon at his side lacing his arms around his neck and planting numerous hungry but short kisses across his jaw and throat. 

Xoanulus, from where he sat polishing his sword for the tenth time, merely returned the Chaos Dragon's gaze evenly, practically matching him scowl for scowl. He swore the blue-eyed man looked as if he were glaring at him, but he hadn't done anything wrong! If anything, it was that giant of a man who should be feeling as if _Xoanulus_ were glaring at _him_, the way he had all of the amber-eyed teenager's attention. Yes, the prince was certainly finding himself becoming a bit disconcorted and rather frustrated with the situation. Aside from that, he was rather growing to dislike the young dragon's romantic inclinations whereas the character of his lovers was concerned.

"Val," Gaav began, only to be interrupted by a kiss. "Hey, Val." he offered once more, but, to no avail. Rolling his eyes, he leaned down to the dragon's ear and whispered, "Valgaav!"

This seemed to capture the teen's attention, as he stopped his actions immediately and instead adopted a serious expression. "Yes, my Lord?" he responded, sneering to himself when the sound of the voice coming from his body reminded him a little that old nitwit, Kanzel. My, but he had a lot of work to do on himself if he was ever going to build himself back to how he had been before his defeat..

"Valgaav, why is that human here and why do we want him to still be alive?"

The aqua-haired boy chuckled at his master's..'Articulate' choice of words. "He's a.." Val paused in thought. How to explain their unintentional encounter... "You could say he's a servant of sorts, my Lord."

"I didn't think you had more than just the two, and they're annoying enough by themselves."

"Yes, my Lord; he's a rather new addition."

"So why is he still here?"

"He has it in his head that I am in need of protection."

Gaav wisely remained silent at this, though part of him wanted to tell Val that he did need protection..From himself, more often than not.

"But why is he still.._here?_ That's what I'm asking."

"Is there a problem with his presence? I thought he woud prove at least a bit entertaining. Almost like a puppy of sorts."

While the mental image of the nieusance across the room suddenly sprouting a tail and puppy ears, lifting a leg to the potted plant in the corner did strike a cord in the Demon Dragon King's sense of humour, he had more important matters to think of before he could even begin to allow that to be worth considering for very long. Arching a bushy brow at Val's words, he leaned his face down towards the dragon's and clasped his face gently with one hand, the other sliding to reside on the hip furthest from Xoanulus' line of sight. Pressing his follower's leg against his lap, the Chaos Dragon ferrally whispered into his ear, "I'm not going to fuck you with him in here, Valgaav, so make him leave."

Val's eyes grew wide momentarily, though a sly and devilish smirk soon crossed his lips, an unholy glimmer of excited anticipation entering his eyes. "Then I'll just have to send him out, my Lord; after all, your orders are to be obeyed."

Turning to face the hazel-eyed prince, Val motioned for him to approach them. Once he had quickly done so, the younger of the three stated, "Leave for a while; we need to be left alone for a bit. A bit down from the antique shop just a few blocks away, there is a painfully cozy-looking house; you may stay there with the woman and her two little helpers. If you so much as hint to knowing anything about where I'm at to any of them," he paused long enough for Gaav to kiss a trail from his lips to his collar bone at this, the taller man already beginning to remove his trench coat, "you'll regret it, and I will certainly see to that."

"They won't know-" Xoanulus began, feeling a pang of jealousy towards the mountain of a man who was now already beginning to work on the unceremonious removal of Val's shirt.

"You can tell them you're a friend or acquaintance of mine."

Gaav had to quickly restrain a smirking snicker at this, choosing to mask it as an impatient cough instead. If there was anything the young Ancient ever _didn't_ have after the massacre of his people, then _that_ was it.

After the prince had bowed and left, Gaav smirked down at the boy as he rolled to lean over him, hands nimbly removing Val's pants. "I think he's stricken by you." he mused.

Arms once more tangling around Gaav's neck, Val chuckled gently. After a few long, gentle kisses, he pulled back and stated, "You think?"

_Back at the Ul Copt Residence.._

Xoanulus was just settling in after his warm welcome by all three of the present caretakers of his 'charge,' feeling a bit tired as the distance he had travelled finally began taking a toll on the prince. Oh, his mother would kill him for it..His father, on the other hand, would have been proud. Then again, they would both have been proud if they could see the three beauties he'd found! Though, they may not have been too fond of the fact that one of the said beauties was another male like himself...Well, either way, he was where he was and while he did want to find Kara and Zeea, he didn't think he could stand leaving before he discovered why the boy had such a poor disposition in his opinion of himself.

About an hour after his arrival, Filia had apologized for needing to make such an early exit and left to get a bit of sleep before the early morning browsing rush at the shop. At the moment, Jillas was trying his absolute hardest to keep himself awake as well, and seemed to be losing the fight miserably. Ultimately he, too, was forced to retreat to his room for the night.

The prince couldn't help but still be rather astonished that there had been no hard feelings for having ambushed the red fox, having mistaken his appearance for someone who might be good with swords rather than explosives and guns. Oh, what a surprise he'd gotten when the startled little guy had drawn out a bomb and reached to yank off its trigger to chuck it at him! Had Gravos and Filia not been nearby to jump the one-eyed critter, he might've blown both of them up, and where would that have gotten them?

However, as Xoanulus watched the aforementioned troll watch the fox exit, he gave a small, knowing grin at the realization of what was going on. He cleared his throat to draw the other remaining occupant of the room's attention out of his thoughts and, once he had done so, asked, "Have the two of you known one another very long?"

Gravos nodded, but said nothing otherwise.

"He got any idea?"

Gravos blinked at this. "Any idea about what?"

Xoanulus gently nudged the troll's side, smiling wider as he nodded towards the door through which Jillas had exited. "That you have feelings for him."

Gravos' eye widened, head turning to face the prince. "Nah, I don't! I just was thinkin', tha's all!"

"Come on, now, sir; I know the look when I see it. As an accomplished prince, one who is very popular with both the men and women of my kingdom, I know these things! The little guy's got your attention; tell him so."

"I can't! I don't- he ain't my kind'a-"

"The longer you take, the more your risks rise of someone else doing it first." Xoanulus mentally slapped his wrist for the lie. Typically, he had made it a point not to be dishonest with others because it only served to give them reason to distrust him in dire situations. In his personal opinion, the fox didn't really _seem_ as if he were looking for someone at the moment, but he had only just arrived that day, and so his judgement could be a bit off just this once. But, hey, if it helped the process along...

However, despite the younger's efforts, the other still seemed to be uncertain. He nervously replied, "I dunno if I even think I got anything'a tell 'im or not, come to think of it.."

_You're a thick one, aren't you?_ Rather than voicing this opinion, Xoanulus stated, "Then do what I do when I'm not sure about how I feel for someone: make an effort to see them every opportunity you get; be around them as often as possible, and guage how your heart responds to the closeness. Once you're more certain, you'll know what to do. Which, if I'm right (and I always am), will mean it's time to let him know your feelings for him."

"Yea' but see, the problem with that's makin' the assumption he'd be okay wid it if I do and tell 'im that."

"Oh," began Xoanulus as he stood and stretched, preparing to leave to retreat to his temporary room for the night, "I would lay my life on the statement that he would understand, even if he doesn't feel the same. Although, I would also very likely bet that your feelings are far from merely one-sided. After all, it isn't too uncommon for long-time friends to blossom feelings for one another. It just depends on the inhibitions they think they have on if they let one another know how they feel or not. But, once they do, the results are often very to their liking. There is, after all, no other great equalizer like love besides death."

As the guest spoke, Gravos mentally debated his optins and thought over his words. On the one hand, he could discover he merely sees Jillas as a friend..Or, he coud discover this, and that it was the _fox_ who cared for _him_. But, then again, what if he did turn out to love the inventive little critter? Letting him know could either be profitable, neutral, or- in the worst-case scenario -a very explosive mistake.

Xoanulus had mentioned that it was pretty common for two friends to grow to love one another, right? Well, that was what happened for Gaav and Valgaav, wasn't it? The Chaos Dragon should have been unable to feel emotions, particularly love, because of the Mazoku in him. However, he _had_ been able to override that problem and had fallen in love with his tortured servant. Likewise, Valgaav had also been a part Mazoku. But, because of his dragon blood, the negativity towards emotions was reduced and made it possible to fall in love with his master. The pains-in-the-ass that were their inhibitions? The difference between their positions in rank of power and uncertainty towards how to approach each other about their emotions.

But, Hell, they'd even grow to care for each other so much that Gaav had beaten the Hellmaster's death sentence, and Valgaav had gone on a suicidal war path to seek revenge for the downfall of the fiery-spirited redhead.

Gravos blinked at this. The two had made allusions to one another of what they felt, but had never _actually_ said anything. Granted, they had come very close to it one night when Valgaav had his first taste of hard liquor..He was a very lightweight drinker.

Oh, very scary thought..If they did end up caring for each other and not letting it be known, if things went badly enough, Gravos could practically just see Jillas all dressed up in Valgaav's old clothes pulling a Dark Star stunt. While it was a bit funny and spurred on the sightest of nose bleeds, it was still an unnerving thought. So would that make Gravos the Gaav of the pair? Ah- scarier thought..

Oh, yeah; he had to find out if he loved the fox or not and talk to him about it.  
**To Be Continued..**


	25. A Dead Rose, Maybe

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English   
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav?! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I?!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Rck...I really should be ashamed that we gaven't been able to get another chapter up in almost four and a half months, now...The problem behind this is we dreaded posting this chapter, and on the day we finally got ready to do so, we lost all we'd saved of the future chapters when my laptop crashed. So we got to work on it all from scratch again...Yay...I'm just super glad we had chapter layouts still hand-written in a notebook I'd stashed away for safe keeping just in case something like that happened. We know this chapter sucks; we couldn't remember everything we'd originally had happen in it, so we just winged it. Geeze, it's hard to write for Jillas' accent..._  
**Chapter Twenty-Five: A Dead Rose, Maybe...**  
"Alright, Jillas--how's this sound?" asked Prince Xoanulus a few days later, clearing his throat and holding up the parchment in front of his face. "Roses are red, violets are blue; both hold great charm, but no candle to you."

The red fox remained silent for a few moments, giving a nervous smile. _A dead rose, maybe._ Aloud, however, he stated, "'S a beauty, prince; but 'oo's it for?"

"Why, your friend, of course; Val!"

_Ehh, Lord Gaav'll kill th' poor kid, 'e will...Maybe Oi should warn 'im before 'e goes through with it. Oi wager Lord Valgaav would jus' shoot him down anyway.._

"..Jillas?" inquired the hazel-eyed boy, catching the troubled look over the other's face.

"Yea'?"

Xoanulus sat back down, taking a seat by the one-eyed critter this time. As he rolled the paper up and tucked it into his cloak, he inquired after a slight pause, "Have the two of you known one another for long?"

"Eh?"

Sighing to himself, the swordsman shook his head slightly. _I'd pegged you for being a good deal brighter than your friend; don't prove me to be wrong._ Seeing that the fox didn't understand his question, he lifted his eyebrows and, after glancing around to ensure that no one else was near them, leaned in towards him. "You and Val, of course." he clarified, head cocking to the side just slightly.

Understanding finally dawned upon the critter's face and he smiled. "Oh! Yeah', we have! Oi been helping the boss raise him a long time. 'E's a handful; dependable, though. Wou'n' rather do anything else!"

A slight worried smile blossomed upon the prince's face at these words. "I see.." _Oh, please, don't tell me I have even more competition than the big brute! That's not fair!_ "I wonder if perhaps you were aware of whether he has a lover or not?"

This question seemed to somewhat fluster Jillas, as he seemed a bit nervous and jumped slightly once the question had registered in his mind. Well, that was never a good sign.

"Ah, Oi- Oi denno!" stammered the inventor. "'E doesn't say much these days, ye know?"

_And neither is that.._

This time it was Jillas who noticed the bothered expression on the other's face and in bringing it into question, he asked, "Ye olroight?"

"Hmm? Ah-! Yes, I'm just fine. I was only a bit concerned over something..I wonder, though, Jillas--have you ever been in love?"

At these words, the smaller of the two looked up in thought. He _had_ once had a crush on Filia, although it had only lasted for a few days before he discovered it was just an infatuation formed out of deep gratitude for her having taken him in after Valgaav's merging with Dark Star when he was believed by the others to be dead. Then, there had been that one female yellow-white fox before he'd joined Lina and her friends--Paulu's mother. Or at least, he'd thought he could have grown to love her after a bit more time, had he stayed.

Come to think of it, Xoanulus brought up a good point! For all the people he'd met, Jillas hadn't actually gotten time to think much about romance; after the attack on his people when he was little, he'd grown up a lot faster than he probably would have otherwise. But then, he was sure the same had been true for Valgaav and Gravos.

After a few more moments of silence, Jillas finally shook his head. "Oi never much got the toime te, t'be honest. Oi been in kind of a bad situation."

"I'm very sorry to hear that. But, now that your charge has almost fully matured, don't you think it was time you did get to start considering finding a partner? I mean, you may look kind of young, perhaps, if you consider some things, but I mean, how old are you now?"

Brows lowering, Jillas stared flatly at the young prince. _Oi di'n' appreciate that crack, kid._ Besides--when was thirty-eight old?!

"Well, what? Forty-seven? Forty-eight? Somewhere along those lines?"

"Oi'm not that old!" spluttered the fox indignantly, glaring daggers.

"Relax, Jillas; I was only kidding."

More than a bit annoyed at the supposed joke, Jillas stood to his feet and prepared to leave. No one said taking insults was part of the job requirements as an antique shop assistant. Life was hectic enough without that as well!

When he was in front of the door, Xoanulus called out, "I mean tno harm; it was just a simple joke. But, do remember what I said--maybe it's time to think about searching for a partner after so long of being alone, no? It could be benificial to you, and perhaps they may even be closer than you think."

With a last look back, Jillas left the shop to return to the house for a bit, leaving the prince to his own devises for a while. This seemed too good an opportunity to miss, Xoanulus decided, to go and visit Val at the hotel.

However, the consant visits to the hotel to see her 'son' had not gone unnoticed by Filia, who felt that Val's suitor had potential, despite his gender. He seemed to care about Val, in any case, and that was an important factor in a mate in her opinion. Though, she did wonder what had happened to the red hair Val had mentioned when he spoke first of his boyfriend to her. Maybe he'd dyed it?

Either way, it ultimately boiled down to one thing: her little boy had grown up!

Okay, so technically he wasn't literally her son; him being an Ancient Dragon and she a Golden Dragon, he'd obviously been the son of a very proud Ancient mother and father. She was only making up for the fault of her kind behind their unwilling absence.

Alright, tha thought pattern hurt a bit. Val had only once ever asked about his father, but had whole-heartedly accepted her as his mother. It wouldn't have taken any other dragon but a moment to tell that, based upon species' appearances in their kind, Val could in no way have been the offspring of a Golden Dragon. While he might have eyes that could look the part, his physique, height, and hair colour gave away his identity just as it had when he'd been Valgaav. Though he'd said nothing about it, Milgasia had caught onto this immediately when Filia had introduced him as her son.

The blonde woman gave a sad smile at the memory and the questions it provoked. She had no true right to be called the amber-eyed teen's mother; he had had a real mother and father--parents who had probably loved him very much. Were they looking down over he and the ex-priestess and crying at having been forgotten by their own son? Were they angry at her for not telling him about them, even if she wouldn't tell him anything else about his past? Were they angry with her for trying to raise him as her son after the terrible crime her kind had committed towards theirs? Did they see this as adding salt to their fatal wounds?

_Someday, you'll have to tell Val the truth, Filia._ a small part of her mind was saying. _Sooner rather than later; he's almost grown, now, and you proised you'd tell him when he was ready to know. You can't keep putting that kind of information off forever; if I kept that from him, I'd be no better than my ancestors..And he deserves so much better than that.._

"What's the matter, dear?" came a gentle female voice from the doorway of the house, bringing Filia to turn around in surprise.

"Oh-! MIsses Ginavive! I'm sorry--you startled me; I wasn't expecting you.." Filia said as sweetly as she could muster the will to, brows still furrowed sadly though she wore a smile.

Ginavive gave a small, sad smile in response. As she pushed her cherry red bangs out of her face, she said with knitted brows, "I'm sorry, dear; I was just passing by the house on my way to the market and you looked a bit sad. Chin up, sweetie; you'll get wrinkles if you frown too much, you know."

"I- I know; I was just thinking about-" Filia glanced around and, after insuring that Val was nowhere to be seen, continued, "Val's real mother and father. But enough about me, Misses Genny; how are you holding up after your..."

The green-eyed woman sighed sadly as she finished for the blonde, "After my son's death? I'm..- I suppose I'm alright. As okay as I can be, at least..I miss my baby so much.."

"I know, MIsses Genny; I know it must hurt to have him gone..Maybe someday, though, you could meet again. In another life, some other world..And I'm sure he would never have wanted you or your husband to be so hurt on his account."

"Miss Filia, I'm no dragon like you; I don't know if we humans ever get more than this life, and I.."

With these words, the slightly smaller woman broke down into tears, her face buried behind shaking hands.

Biting into her lower lip, Filia gently hugged the woman in hopes that it would calm her nerves a little. At last, she pushed the girl back by the shoulders gently and looked her in the eyes, saying, "You must believe it, Misses Genavive; one day, you might see your son again. I know it hurts now, but don't give up yet."

Forcing a smile, the grieving woman asked, "Are you sure, Miss Filia?"

"Would I lie to the only person who knows all of the secrets of my unusual little family?"

"No, I suppose not..You know, my son liked yours very much; he used to say that there was nothing he wouldn't do to be with him..I think you've raised Val wonderfully. His mother and father would be so proud of both of you."

It was Filia's turn to burst into tears, now, though she gave a genuine smile. "Oh, Misses Ginavive, it means so much to hear that; I was so afraid I might have offended them by taking him in..Or that I had failed him, somehow.."

"Miss Filia, no one could ever blame you for raising him in the absence of his real parents. If anything, I'm sure you'd be praised if they were here to. After all--all a parent really wants for their child is happiness; if they truly loved him like I'm sure they did, they would have wanted this chance for him."

"But after what my-"

"Your _people_, Miss Filia, not _you_. You had no part in it, and I"m sure you would have tried to stop it if you had been there. But you would have been killed, yourself, and then he would never have even gotten the chance that he has now; you shouldn't ever blame yourself for the deeds of others."

"He did, though--for every bit of it. And I just, I couldn't bring myself to hate him, or to be angry for it; he lost everything he had because of my kind..He was so hurt.."

"Miss Filia, he was disturbed back then; losing everything- twice -threw off his balance of right and wrong. He just couldn't see past the blindness his pain brought onto him to realize that you weren't one of his enemies."

"It's just that every time he looks at me, I feel so hurt for him--even this far down the road. There was so much hatred and pain in his eyes back then that still rests there even now, that no matter how many life cycles he goes through, I don't think that look will ever go away. It's always there, whether he sees it or not, even when he's happy.."

"Miss Filia, you're doing an excellent job. Please, don't be upset over this; you're doing so much for him that no one else would ever do. You don't owe him anything else but the continuing love of the mother you've been to him these past seventeen years."

"Thank you, Misses Genavive.."  
**To Be Continued..**


	26. Never

**Rated:** R  
**Language:**English  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance  
**Title:** My Obsession  
**Summary:** "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav?! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I?!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

**My Obsession**

* * *

_Yes, the last chapter was short-ish. I didn't see any reason to press the matter when everything was clear anyway; besides, I hate OC's in a fanfic so I try to limit their appearance as much as possible if they aren't absolutely important to the flow of events. Genny isn't. So. (coughs)...Either way, we just wanted to add some bits for Filia to show her end of the ordeal. Kinda like with Amelia, really. Ugh, though, I really hate the story right now. I've got the ending all prep'd, so all I have to do is update til I get that one posted and ta-da. _  
**Chapter Twenty-Six: Never**  
"Where does he keep hiding? Lord Gaav demanded everybody be at the next meeting and if we can't find that prat, it's our necks on the plate!"

"I swear, he'll be the death of us if Lord Gaav finds out we lost him again."

"Shh, quiet; he can't find out!"

"It's like we're hunting out a human child."

"I think I found-! Oh, nevermind, it's just Marixa."

" 'Just' Marixa?! Why you-!"

These kinds of conversation had been going on for the past few days since the Demon Dragon King had finally recovered Valgaav's memories, and all of them generally resulted in Gaav's discovery of their failure in keeping up with the dragon whenever he went outside the relative safety of their temporary headquarters. Which, of course, typically resulted in the death of at least one of the search party. However, the more the mishaps occurred, the more Gaav was starting to catch onto the fact that it wasn't the incompetance of his followers to blame; it was the knack Val had for wit and cunning, which had always exceeded theirs by far. Come to think of it, he'd always been fairly difficult to track down if he didn't want company; Jillas had even experienced that first-hand when he'd gone looking for him and wound up lost in the tunnels.

Heck, even Gaav had occasionally experience difficulty in locating him if he didn't first locate the dragon's energy signature on the astral plane.

From where he sat a few rooms over, Val watched the searchers move away and chuckled. "Just like a child's game."

_"A'right, you three, wherever you are, I'm comin'!" Gravos stated loudly, gazing around the empty room._

From where she had ducked behind the book case, Filia gave a smile as she inwardly giggled to herself. She certainly had never thought she'd get to play hide and seek again, not after she'd taken up training for her role as a priestess!

"He'll never find us, Jillas!" Val whispered in excitement, peeking through the window at the troll from where he hovered in the air. Though still only five or so, Val's dragon form was still at least two times bigger than the fox and Gravos, who were more than a little aware that that was plenty big enough to crush them with little effort, however accidental. So, Jillas clung to the Ancient's neck tightly as he gave a cheerful smile, more afraid of being unintentionally flattened by a less than graceful landing on part of Val should he fall than of the actual fall itself.

"Jus' be careful, li'l boss." whispered the one-eyed critter, chuckling. "Ye don't want any accidents up 'ere."

As the troll came out towards the yard, he spied the duo from the corner of his eye and inwardly smiled. It never amazed him how well they got along, but he had to admit: this stunt somewhat surprised him. "I found the boss, but I wonder where Val 'n Jillas are? They jus' disappeared!"

In silent laughter, Val quietly made his way to Gravos from behind, grinning.

Turning quickly to come face-to-snout with the young Ancient, Gravos called out triumphantly, "Ah-ha!"

Startled by the sudden discovery, val yelped as he darted back quickly in an instinctual act of defense, eyes wide. He'd never expected that!

As his feet met with the roof of the store unexpectedly and he made an unintentional shift back to his human shape, he noticed the lessening of pressure on his back with the passing of seconds. A quick glance back as he attempted to catch his balance told him that he'd not only lost said balance, but his passenger as well!

Looking down told him Gravos had successfully caught a bewildered Jillas, but why wasn't he falling..?

"Are you alright?" a worried voice above him asked, followed by a gentle nudge to the head.

With a smile, the young Ancient noted that two golden limbs held him gently, though securely, to a sleek dragon's body. "Mother!" he cried happily, hugging the Golden as well as his arms would reach.

Smiling down at the tiny boy in her arms, Filia softly nudged his head in a show of motherly affection. "Ooh, my little Val." she said softly, landing beside Gravos and Jillas and setting the youth down beside her. Once she had resumed her human form, she threw her arms around him in a warm hug. "I'm so happy we get this chance."

"VAL!" a booming voice interrupted the teen's thoughts, returning him to the present in surprise. Had someone found him?

Blinking, Val realized he was wrapped tightly in the Chaos Dragon's arms, feeling a little wet all over. As Gaav breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, the aqua-haired boy's brows furrowed; where was he? And how did Gaav find him?

Before he could pose these questions, however, Gaav tipped his chin up and kissed him fiercely before pulling back. Val watched curiously as his taller lover deftly unbuttoned his trench coat, tugging him against his chest and wrapping it about him to shelter him from getting too much wetter. Frowning, Gaav asked in a tone of voice dripping with frustration, "What the hell, Val? What's the point of trying to walk off a building in the damn rain?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack or what?!"

"Lord Gaav!" Val started, finally recalling his current situation. "What-"

"You can't keep doing that, Val; for Ruby Eye's sake, you may still be a dragon, but before you walk off the damn building you might want to think about sprouting those pretty little wings of yours! Remember how bad it was using your dragon half back when you were half Mazoku, too? Split it by just under a third, and that's about what you have from walking off the roof!"

"Yes, but last time it happened they caught us, so-"

Gaav frowned down at his lover, having no idea what he was talking about. Whatever it was, it wasn't anything that had happened during their time together, and it hadn't been during the incident with Dark Star. That left one option: it was one of Val's memories from this life, rather than Valgaav's, that he was thinking of. Even as the discovery was still being made, the frown grew wider. If Val ever did somehow completely revert back to the mentality of the full-blooded Ancient he had been, would he remember having met him, just as Valgaav had shown a bit of difficulty remembering to act on Val's memories? Or would he go back to before that point, to when the only people he'd thought really mattered to him were Filia, Jillas, and Gravos?

Gaav sighed, sparing a glance towards the sky. _I've worked too hard to get back my precious Valgaav's memories to lose him again; no matter how many of Val's memories try to change him back, I'm not giving him up!_

Looking back down to the dragon in his arms, Gaav inwardly kicked himself for what he was about to say. He knew very well that the young man would be far from thrilled with the demands, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Right?

"Val, you're not allowed to go out into public outside of the headquarters, that motel, and that dragon woman's place. I refuse to lose you to some stupid accident, and I'm damn sure not going to let you revert because of whatever might pop up. The only time you're allowed out is when that fox or troll, or one of my other followers is watching you."

Val's eyes widened, brows knitting together in anger as he snarled, "_What_?!"

The expression on Gaav's face was dead serious. He looked down into the teen's golden-amber eyes as if silently communicating to him the seriousness behind his order. He would have to listen to him, and he wouldn't tolerate an argument over it. So, understanding the terms, Val simply growled to himself at being forced to quietly submit to such an uncharacteristically over-protective order. "Of course, my Lord." With this, he started towards the window to go back in.

Mentally, Gaav rolled his eyes. He recognized the tone of voice used to reply to him; it was normally reserved for the fights they'd had in the past, and it always bothered him to no end that it reminded him of how a human would feel in seeing a puppy that's been abused its whole life being kicked by its saviours. What made it worse was that he got the feeling the dragon didn't even notice it, and worse still, he'd often spotted a pattern in which, when it was used, he wouldn't have much to do with Gaav for a good while outside of missions, much like a pouting child. No matter, he would have to rectify that in a bit; he didn't want anyone to see the two of them precariously perched on the roof's edge.

"Val, will-" Gaav began, only to be cut off as Val turned abruptly to face him. Sensing the forming storm in the horizon if he didn't choose his words carefully, he amended, "You could get in trouble if someone's not with you; someone might find out about our situation, or you could get hurt."

Rather than blowing up at him as Gaav had expected, Val nodded sharply and replied, "Understood, Lord Gaav." And with not another word, he slid back into the window and proceeded down the hall.

...Okay, the youth wasn't just pissed at him; he was beyond that, and seemed to be well on his way to an all-too-familiar furious rampage. Though he'd had many since he and the redhead had first met, the Demon Dragon King was never fond of them. The last one had been bad enough to get him killed! That thought, in itself, wasn't all that pleasant.

As Gaav made his way back inside and rung his hair out over the carpet a bit, one of the blue-eyed man's slightly higher-level followers arched a brow. "Fighting with the missus?" he inquired, earning a warning glance before Gaav strode briskly after the teenager.

As soon as he caught up to Val, Gaav's arms wound tightly around his waist in a hug, scowling across the room to the wall. "Val," he started, "listen to me: don't get anywhere too close to that woman, and be careful when you're alone. I don't want anything to happen to you; I lost you once, and I'm not losing you again. Not even to yourself. Never."

Quietly, Val glanced up into concerned blue eyes as his arms made their way gently around the taller's neck. "My Lord, are-"

Lips pressing against Val's, Gaav slowly backed him towards the wall and pulled down the blinds. Once they had slowly broken apart, he repeated, "Never."

He pressed the young dragon's back to the wall gently, smirking down at him as he took in the teen's appearance. As the anmber-eyed male brought one leg up and perched it about his waist, there was still only one thing coursing through the Chaos Dragon's mind.

_No matter what happens or who you think you are, you're still mine, Val; I'm not going to let go that easily, even if you do. You're mine._  
**To Be Continued..**


End file.
